


When in Kansas . . .

by Keziah



Series: Kansas 'Verse [1]
Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/F, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Slow Burn, Young!Clark, doctor!Alex, farmer!Kara
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-29
Updated: 2018-04-28
Packaged: 2018-09-20 19:55:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 40
Words: 88,362
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9510509
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Keziah/pseuds/Keziah
Summary: Kara and Kal-El landed in a field in Kansas after years in the phantom zone. After fighting to accustom herself to a new culture, while raising a child, at 26 Kara finally has everything she wants. Clark is happy in high school and they live on a small farm with space to raise enough food for two Kryptonians while still turning a small profit. She has plenty of friends, and time to study whatever she wants. She can fly around the world in less than ten minutes and knows the best places across the globe to get takeout for her game nights. She doesn't need a girlfriend (even if Clark is crushing on that girl in his math class and tells her she needs to get out more so he doesn't feel weird being the only one dating).Enter Dr. Alexandra Danvers, who literally crashes into her life.





	1. A Fortuitous Accident

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Farmer Kara](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/260405) by Tumblr. 



> Yes, I should be working on 'Who Wants to Live Forever?' but this is what you get when I'm tired and can't think of plot points and want to rot my brain with fluff. Enjoy!

A metallic crunch in the middle of the night woke Kara. It sounded a lot like a car crash, and on the edge of her property. Kara still smiled a little when she thought of it. Her property. Hers. With a barn for their horses and dairy cows, and a barn with the pods and farm equipment and tools, and a shed with chickens, and another shed with pigs, and a house with a dog and her only family, and fields of corn, and a small orchard she had carefully plotted out and planted, and a vegetable garden, and a root cellar, and a little pond . . . Shaking herself out of her pleased reflections, Kara grabbed a pair of jeans and a flannel shirt and pulled them over her boy shorts and tank. She wandered down the stairs, stuffed her feet in her boots, gave their collie Bothgar a pat on the head to settle him back down, and sped towards the noise.

Reaching the road, she found a station wagon, full of boxes and suitcases and a lamp, mostly off the road, it’s front corner crumpled up against one of Kara’s fence posts. The post was fine, the car less so. The driver, a woman with short brown hair, was beating her fists against the steering wheel, crying and cursing all at once.

Kara walked around the car and gently knocked on the window. The driver started at the noise and lunged to the side, practically choking herself on her seatbelt, before rolling down the window.

Kara frowned. “Are you all right?”

The woman nodded and waved dismissively. “I’m fine. Sorry to bother you.”

Kara raised her eyebrows. “What happened?”

“Uh, just lost control of the car.”

Kara looked closer. There were bags under the driver’s eyes and she was shaking slightly, blinking her eyes furiously. “When was the last time you slept?”

“Uh.” The woman rubbed her hand over her face. “A couple days ago?”

“Okay, I’m not a doctor, but even I know you can’t go that long without sleep.”

“I am.”

“What?”

“A doctor. I just got a job at Wilson Medical. As far away from my parents as I could get.”

Kara nodded slowly. The woman was definitely in shock, and add that to her lack of sleep (and lack of eating if they way she smelled was any indication), she was totally out of it.

“What’s your name?”

“Alex. Dr. Alexandra Danvers.”

“Okay, Alex, my name’s Kara. Can you get yourself unbuckled?”

“I need to get to Neodesha! I start work tomorrow!”

Kara nodded. “Uh huh, you’ll get there.” Kara opened the door. “Come on. You’ve been in an accident and need help. You can stay the night here and we’ll take care of your car tomorrow.”

“I don’t need help.” Alex protested. “I’m fine.”

Kara tried to look as trustworthy as possible. “I know I’m a complete stranger, but I promise you’ll be safe. Maybe you don’t need help, but I’m offering, and it’ll make your next couple of days much easier.”

Alex glared at Kara, though it lost much of its heat due to exhaustion. “No funny business.”

Kara crossed her heart and held out her pinkie. “No funny business, I promise.”

Alex seriously shook Kara’s pinkie with her own. “I need to be at Wilson at 8.”

“And you will be. I’ll take you into work myself. Now come here. The guest room is all made up, you can sleep, and take a shower in the morning, and have a nice big healthy breakfast because you haven’t eaten anything proper in days and go to work all refreshed and ready to save lives.”

As Kara talked she gently unbuckled Alex and helped her out of the car. A quick scan of x-ray vision and a subtle movement of hands over limbs and head determined that the only injuries Alex had were developing bruises from the seatbelt and her unexpected stop. Kara would have asked Alex if she had any injuries, but she guessed Alex wouldn’t have told if she did, doctor or no.

Alex tried to protest, but Kara slung her arm around Alex’s waist, shut the car door, and began walking her to the house.

“My car.” Alex said, trying to turn back towards it. “And my stuff.”

“I’ll haul it into the barn and it’ll be safe there. We can deal with it tomorrow.”

Alex kept protesting (though not very coherently) as Kara led her through the fields and into the house. As they went up the stairs, Clark padded down from the attic room he’d claimed as his own.

<<What’s going on?>> he mumbled in Kryptonese. With lots of effort and much help from the AIs, Kara had raised Clark with Kryptonese as his first language. She was determined to do anything she could to keep their culture alive.

Kara whispered back. <<She crashed her car and is going to stay the night. Go back to bed.>>

<<Okay.>> Clark rubbed his eyes and went back up the stairs.

“I don’t recognize that language.” Alex mumbled, startling Kara, who thought she had fallen asleep walking.

“It’s not very common.” Kara replied. She steered Alex into the guest room and sat her down on the bed. “Take off your clothes while I find you something to sleep in.”

Surprisingly, though Alex’s eyes drooped, she did as Kara said, and was down to her boy shorts and bra when Kara got back with a large t-shirt for Alex to use as nightwear.

Alex pulled it over her head and flopped to the side. She was asleep as soon as she hit the pillow.

Kara made sure she was asleep (and carefully tucked the blanket around her), then went back out to the wreckage. She flew the car carefully to the barn where she stored her farm equipment and the tools needed to fix them when they invariably broke down. Setting the station wagon down in an open area, she gave it a once over. It didn’t look like it was horribly damaged. At least, Kara thought she could probably fix it herself with only a few new parts.

She dug through the suitcases stacked on the seats and found the one with toiletries, spare clothes, and scrubs. She took that into the house, collected a couple of towels and a washcloth from the linen closet, found an alarm clock in her workshop, and snuck back into the guest room. She set the alarm clock for 6am, hung up a change of clothes in the closet, and arranged the toiletries and towels in the adjoining bathroom.

Coming back out, she took a minute to watch Alex. Even sleeping, Alex had her brow furrowed and shoulders hunched, tension radiating through her whole body. Kara frowned. She would do all she could for as long as she could to get rid of that stress. Kara wrote a quick note explaining the situation (since she wasn’t sure how much Alex would remember) and put it in a prominent position next to the alarm clock. Hopefully Alex wouldn’t be too confused when she woke up.

Kara spent the next few hours (before she had to start chores) working on Alex’s car. She bent out the frame, re-welded a couple spots with her heat vision, and used her hands to smooth out the few other dings in the car. Starting the car, and looking over every inch of the engine with her micro-vision, she determined that the engine was fine, but radiator line was in shreds. Luckily, the radiator itself was still functional (after a patch and some judicious application of heat vision). She noted down the make and size of the radiator line on her shopping list, added a few cans of automotive paint beneath that (she guessed the color, but she was never wrong with colors), and followed it up with an extra couple boxes of chocolate and a bottle of whiskey. She didn’t know any woman that didn’t feel better with chocolate, and based on the faint alcohol scent that permeated the suitcases, Alex was a big fan of whiskey.

She then unpacked the car, neatly stacking the boxes to the side, and began an examination of the interior of the car. There was a spare tire, jack, and wrench in the back, no holes in the floor or ceiling, but a few places in the upholstery that needed stitching up. She got her leather needle and some stiff thread and made those repairs before neatly repacking the boxes and suitcases. It appeared that the car contained all of Alex’s belongings, and said belongings were mostly books. She noted the oil and other fluids the car needed, locked up, and headed to the house to wake Clark for chores.


	2. Good Morning!

Alex woke to an incessant buzzing in a strange room. She groaned as she slapped at the alarm clock. Had she gotten wasted and gone home with someone again? She tried to go to her place for sex (or not go anywhere at all, she wasn’t picky when she was drunk) so she could kick the girl out when they were done and not have to worry about getting home afterwards or that awkward one-night-stand breakfast thing.

Alex sat bolt upright as she remembered the events from the night before. She had been driving to her new job in Kansas, dozed at the wheel, and ran into a fence post. Someone had helped her out of the car and put her to bed. And there was a pinkie promise at one point?

She looked around the room with an examining eye. It was clean and reasonably bare, the only furniture being a bed, a low dresser, and an end table. Her bed was tucked in a corner, small, but comfortable.There were two open doors in the wall straight across from the bed, leading to a closet and a bathroom. A closed door to her right presumably led to the rest of the house, and the dresser stood next to that, with her travel bag and briefcase on top. The large window to the left had sky blue curtains pulled back to reveal a beautiful sunrise over a picturesque view. There were a few paintings on the walls, and a couple soft rugs on the floor.

Alex pinched herself and rubbed her eyes. She didn’t think she was dreaming, mostly because there was no way her brain could come up with anything this homey. She rotated out from under the covers and stood up, looking down at the t-shirt she was wearing. It was black with a white UFO and the words “The Truth is Out There” blazoned across the front. Yeah, definitely not a dream. Shifting her feet, Alex noticed she was standing on a piece of paper. She picked it up cautiously and saw that it was a note. It had probably fallen off the end table with her violent thwacking of the alarm clock.

_Hi, Alex! Good morning! I hope you slept well! Breakfast is downstairs at six thirty, so if you wake with the alarm you should have time for a shower first. I put some towels and your toiletries in the bathroom. I also hung up some clothes in the closet. I thought you might want something fresh feeling for your first day on the job! If you need anything else, just give me a shout; I’ll hear you! - Kara_

Alex blinked at the number of exclamation points and reread the note. Shaking her head, she decided to just go with it. After all, she hadn’t been murdered yet (or otherwise attacked and harmed), and she really didn’t have the time to deal with this if she wanted to get to work promptly.

 

Alex made it downstairs just after the appointed breakfast time. She followed the smell of bacon to a bright open kitchen. A blonde woman stood at the stove, her back to Alex, expertly flipping pancakes, eggs, and bacon.

The woman was tan and muscled and barefoot, bouncing slightly as she hummed an unrecognizable tune. She was wearing slightly worn jeans that shaped her legs and rear beautifully. Once Alex got past the legs, she noticed the slender waist framed by a thick leather belt with a knife and multitool clipped at her hip. A plaid button up shirt was just tight enough to show off her back muscles, and its sleeves were rolled to the perfect length to accentuate the woman’s forearms. _I am so gay._ Alex thought.

A low “woof” caught her attention and she turned to see a collie staring at her from underneath a sturdy kitchen table. The collie boofed at her a couple more times, as if it was warning her against doing anything funny, before turning his head to accept a morsel of bacon from the boy sitting above him.The teenaged boy barely gave her a glance as he scarfed down pancakes, bacon, eggs, and fruit, occasionally slipping bites to the large collie at his feet.

Fortunately, it wasn’t long before Kara (Alex luckily remembered the woman’s name when she saw her face) turned around and smiled. “Sit down!” She said. “There’s plenty of food.”

“I should call a tow.” Alex said instead. “My car is probably blocking the road.”

“Oh no, you don’t need to do that.” Kara twitched her fingers across her belt. “I flew it off the road this morning . . . with my tractor. It’s not badly damaged at all. Sit. Sit.”

Kara ushered Alex into a chair and placed a huge plate of food in front of her. “I have some errands to run in town, so I can drop you off at work, and get the car fixed for you by the time you’re done.”

“Uhhh, okay.” Alex said, mindlessly. She hadn’t really heard what Kara had said, but there was no fighting against the earnest look and puppy dog eyes on Kara’s face, especially when her brain was distracting her with listing the drugs that would cause hallucinations.

Ignoring both her brain and the vision in front of her, Alex took a bite of pancake. It was really good and suddenly she was starving. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d eaten something that wasn’t coffee, alcohol, or the occasional energy bar. She dug in eagerly, nearly matching the teenager in quantity, if not speed.

Kara soon slid into a seat next to Alex with her own platter of food. They ate in silence for a bit, before the boy finished his mountain of food, dumped the plate in the sink, and dashed out the door, grabbing a backpack on the way and hollering “Bye!”

“Bye, Clark!” Kara hollered back. “Don’t forget to take the books back to the library!”

Alex swallowed a bite of food and asked the question that had been on her mind since she’d gotten her brain to shut up about alcoholic hallucinosis. “Your son?”

Kara didn’t look quite old enough, but some people got pregnant very young and other people just looked younger than they were.

Kara shook her head. “No, cousin. His parents died when he was a baby, so I’m raising him.”

“Oh.” Alex didn’t know what to say to that, so she took a bite of bacon instead.

Kara just smiled and served Alex a few more helpings of fruit.

When they were finished, Alex helped Kara clear the table and load the dishwasher. Firmly closing the machine, Kara turned to Alex, propping herself against the counter. “We can leave anytime in the next fifteen minutes and still get to the hospital by eight. When do you get off tonight?”

“Uh. Five. It’ll be office stuff the first couple days before I get put on a rotation.”

“Awesome. I can pick you up if you like, or bring your car to you? Where are you staying?”

Alex squinted a little. What was Kara offering? Didn’t her car need to go to a mechanic and didn’t Kara want this stranger out of her house like a sane person would? “I was planning on a hotel until I found an apartment. If my car’s running, I can just take it now.”

Kara dropped her hands to her belt and fiddled with the large and unusually shaped buckle. “No, no, the car is not running, but it’s just a few loose connections, I think. It looked a lot worse last night than when I looked at it this morning. I can fix it up for you while you’re at work. Shouldn’t take long, and then I can bring it to you, or you can come back here and spend the night again. I think here’s better than the one hotel in town anyway, especially the food, and we are totally happy to have you.”

Kara suddenly straightened and widened her eyes, as if she’d just remembered something. “Unless you don’t want to! I know I’m a stranger and I basically kind of kidnapped you and maybe you really like your privacy which hotels are great for and I am trying to fix your car and I didn’t even ask before I started working on it or getting into your stuff or anything . . .”

Alex cut Kara off with a wave of her hand. “Wait, wait, wait. Let me get this straight. You’re offering to drive me to work, fix my car while I’m at work, then pick me up again and let me stay the night again tonight before I drive my newly fixed car to work tomorrow.”

Kara nodded and beamed. “Exactly!”

Alex drew her eyebrows together. “Why?!”

Kara cocked her head in confusion. “Because it’ll make life easier for you? And I can do it no problem.”

Alex stared at Kara for several long moments. Who even was this woman? She eventually raised her hands in defeat. “Yeah, sure. Why not?”


	3. Cheep, cheep, cheep (talk a lot, pick a little more)

Alex collected her briefcase from upstairs, making sure she had everything she needed for work, and followed Kara out to the garage. Kara one-handedly lifted the garage door to reveal a massive pickup truck. A massive bright-yellow pick-up truck with butterflies painted across the sides, a trailer hitch on the back, and a toolbox in the bed.

“This is Gertrude.” Kara said, proudly, as she opened the passenger door for Alex. “She’s my baby.”

Alex climbed up (seriously up, the floor of the truck was at least four feet above ground) and into the cab. Kara slid into the driver’s seat with more grace than Alex thought was really fair, and donned a pair of sunglasses. Kara started up the engine and grinned happily at the rumble, sending a cheerful glance at Alex. Alex hesitantly returned the smile, and buckled in, wincing slightly as the seatbelt tightened across the bruises on her abdomen and chest. Kara wrapped her fingers around the stick shift, expertly worked the clutch, and sped them down the driveway and onto the road.

“Do you know which door to go in?” Kara asked when they were just a few minutes away.

Alex stopped fiddling with her briefcase and the letter informing her that she had been hired. “Uh, I’m supposed to meet Dr. Griffin in the ER.”

“Oh, Dr. Griffin! She’s nice. I think you’ll like working with her.”

“You know her?”

Kara gave Alex a quizzical glance. “Of course. Small town, you know. Everyone knows everyone and their business.”

“Right.” Alex said. Small town. That was why she had picked it, after all. No one here who knew her parents, no one who knew her background, a completely fresh start.

“Uh, have you lived here long?” Alex asked.

“Since I was 13.” Kara replied. “Moved here right after Clark was born. Where are you coming from?”

“California.” Alex said.

“Cool! Do you surf?”

Alex laughed at that. “Actually, yeah.”

“What’s it like?” Kara asked curiously. “I’ve never been.”

Alex sighed. That was one thing she was really going to miss about California. “It’s amazing. No pressures, no expectations. It’s just you, your board, and the sea. And when you hit the wave right it feels like flying.”

Alex gave Kara a sideways glance. That was more than she had planned on saying. She seemed to be doing that a lot around this woman. Kara made no comment on Alex’s oversharing, but instead sent her a kind smile.

Soon, Gertrude pulled up next to the ER entrance. Kara rotated in her seat. “I’ll meet you back here at 5, okay?”

“Yeah.” Alex jumped down from the car and paused while grabbing her briefcase. “Thank you. I mean it. You’ve made today a lot better than I expected.”

Kara waved her hand. “Pssssh. I’m happy to help.”

Alex nodded. “Right. Uh. See you tonight.”

“See you tonight!”

Alex shut the door and jerkily waved. Kara waved back and roared out of the parking lot.

Adjusting her blouse and blazer, Alex gripped her briefcase and walked towards the doors. She was met just outside by Dr. Griffin. They exchanged firm handshakes and Dr. Griffin waved them into the emergency room. “I see you’ve met Kara already.”

Alex didn’t bother asking how she knew. That truck would stand out in a field of sunflowers. “Yeah, my car broke down and she offered me a ride.” Alex said, keeping herself strictly professional. “It was very kind of her.”

“She’s like that.” Dr. Griffin said, before beginning the tour of the facilities Alex would be working in.

 

-

 

After dropping Alex at the hospital, Kara drove to her favorite auto parts store.

“Hey Kara, need something new for Gertrude?” Dave called out from behind the counter when she walked in.

“Not today, Dave.” Kara said. “Looking for a radiator hose for a 2005 Volvo xc70.”

Dave scrunched his face. “Who drives a station wagon? No one I know.”

“Nah, she’s new in town. Got a job at the hospital.”

“Oh!” Dave’s face cleared “The new ER doc. You’re fixing her car?”

Kara shrugged. “She broke down in front of my house last night, and I figured since it was just the radiator hose, I could fix it up no problem. You got one here?”

Kara knew he had one there. She’d used her x-ray vision to check before she went in. If he hadn’t, she would have flown to the next city over for parts and stuck with her fiction that it was “just a couple of loose connections”.

“Let me check.” Dave said and wandered into the back. While Kara waited she strode down the aisles and picked up brown automotive paint to match Alex’s station wagon, oil, windshield wiper fluid, some brake fluid, and a new floor mat.

Dave came out from the back with a box and grinned at her. “You’re in luck! This should do the trick right well.”

Kara grinned back and set the rest of her purchases on the counter. “You’re the best, Dave, and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.”

 

The next stop was the grocery, where she picked up a few essentials (mostly the things she couldn’t grow) along with their best bottle of whiskey and several boxes of chocolates. The cashier raised an eyebrow at the whiskey and asked for her ID.

Kara rolled her eyes at him (he’d been to her 21st birthday party, and took place in their poker nights regularly) but passed her driver’s license over anyway. She drank rarely enough she could forgive him his teasing.

After the grocery she ran a few more errands that had been piling up: the department store for pants and shirts for Kal (he had hit one of his growth spurts and she swore she could hear his bones creak if she listened hard enough); the farm supply store for a couple bags of feed and a bone for Bothgar; and the computer store to see if her order had come in yet.

“Hey, Winn.” she called as she entered the store, waving up at the security camera aimed at the front door. Naturally, Winn was nowhere to be found in the customer portion of the store, so she wove through the strictly organized rows and ducked through the door marked “Staff Only” (which was presumptuous of Winn, since he was the owner, manager, and sole employee of ‘Star Tech’).

Winn didn’t even look up as he spoke. “I heard the new ER doctor stayed over last night.”

Kara paused, trying to follow the gossip chain. “Okay, who did you hear that from, because I get stuck at Cynthia.”

“Cynthia from Jack from Dave?” Winn shook his head. “Nuh uh. Dr. Griffin texted Raven who mentioned it to Mabel when she was at the office who told Jess when she stopped by the diner for coffee who told me when I was over there repairing their router. Again.”

Kara snorted. “Someone spill coffee on it again?”

“Pop this time. I should start giving them the bulk discount, honestly.”

“Or put the router in a different place.” Kara suggested.

Winn shrugged, finally coming to a save point in his game, and turned to face her. “I didn’t wire the connection, otherwise it would be in a different place.”

Kara floated up onto the desk next to his computer. “So, my processors come in yet?”

Winn _looked_ at her. “Are you kidding me? I had to ship it through five different states just to keep the FBI off my back, and don’t even talk to me about Homeland Security. You’ll be lucky if they get here at all.”

Kara frowned. “You told me it wouldn’t be any trouble.”

“Yeah, well, that was before some jerk tried to hack the Pentagon. Now they’re tracking anybody who looks like they’re building a supercomputer.” Winn glared at nothing. “It wasn’t even a decent hacking attempt. The guy makes us all look bad.”

Kara reached over and patted his shoulder. “You are always welcome to hide out on the farm when they come for you.”

Winn straightened his tie. “Yeah, well, I hope it won’t come to that. I can’t stand the outdoors. Speaking of, shouldn’t you be back there?”

“I can leave the farm for a few hours without it falling apart, Winn, you know that.”

He eyed her. “Maybe I just want you to leave.”

Kara shook her head, smiling. “No, I don’t think so.”

“It’s true.” Winn insisted. “I abhor you. I don’t know why I let you in my store.”

Kara wrapped her arms around him and ruffled his hair. “Nope, you love me.”

Winn flailed ineffectually for a few moments before patting her awkwardly on her back. “Yeah, yeah, I love you. Now get off me. You’re ruining my cool.”

Kara snorted. “You have no cool. I do need to get going though. I want to make some calls about apartments for rent before lunch.”

Winn unsuccessfully hid his laugh. “Keep that up and the gossip will have you two married by breakfast tomorrow.”

Kara just rolled her eyes. “I’ll talk to you later, _Winslow_.”

“Whatever, _Zor-El_.”

 

Arriving home, Kara made six calls before lunch and left messages at four of them. The other two gave her a few recommendations for apartments, and Kara jotted down the addresses and landlords’ information. She ate lunch, and was about to work on the station wagon when she remembered all the chores she had been putting off. She glared at the fields as if she could will them done. It didn’t work, unfortunately, but she didn’t heat vision anything either, so that was a plus. Taking a deep breath, she sped through the weeding and feeding and repairs. It was very convenient, having superspeed, and she used it often enough the animals no longer balked. Finally done with the farm tasks, she hurried to the barn and examined the station wagon

Kara started by emptying the car once again and taping up a couple of the boxes that were on the verge of falling apart. She replaced the radiator hose and the fluids, cleaned the car inside and out, replaced the tattered floor mat and finished by giving it a fresh coat of paint.

As she worked, she got calls back from the messages she had left. When all was said and done, she had a long list of apartments, rooms, and houses for lease, most of which were available within the week. Her favorite one was a small studio house just a few minutes away from the hospital. Kara put that information on the top of neat stack of options she was compiling. Drying the paint and finishing a small gift for Alex took most of the afternoon, so she had just enough time to repack the car (complete with the small gift tucked in the back) before leaving to pick up Alex.

 

-

 

As the day went on, Alex relaxed into her work. The hospital was well run, the staff were reasonably friendly (if a little wary at how the new doctor would change things), and, best of all, no one had any expectations for her beyond doing her job. They toured the facility, introducing Alex to nurses and secretaries and PAs and techs and residents and Alex did her best to remember everyone’s name. She’d learned a few tricks in college for remembering people and names and it served her well on busy hospital floors.

Dr. Griffin recommended a diner for lunch, but made no move to accompany her, which suited Alex just fine. She needed some time to clear her head and process the last 12 hours. The diner had surprisingly good grilled cheese sandwiches and Alex indulged with a strawberry milkshake. She got more than a few “casual” glances as she ate, but she figured it was the usual reaction of a small town. What else was there to do besides gossip?

The afternoon went much the same way as the morning, with the addition of paperwork. Alex had sent ahead her qualifications and certificates, but they still needed photocopies of everything and paycheck details sorted and a million other papers to sign that Alex wasn’t quite sure what they were for.

Five o’clock came sooner than expected. In fact, it was ten after when Betsy (the admin assigned to her) knocked on Alex’s door and nodded significantly at the clock. Alex smiled sheepishly and thanked Betsy for the reminder. She gathered up her copies of the paperwork, and automatically checked her phone for an “I’m here” text before realizing she didn’t have Kara’s number and Kara didn’t have hers. For that matter, Alex didn’t even know Kara’s last name or how old she was or if she liked girls or where’d she come from before moving to Kansas or how many siblings she had or where her parents were or why she would help a complete stranger out just because said stranger needed help.

Alex allowed herself 2 minutes to curse under breath at herself for her lack of planning and general lack of control and self-sufficiency before straightening her back and walking out of her bare office. She said polite goodbyes to the people she passed on her way out, successfully addressing each one by name. Exiting the same doors she’d walked through Alex casually scanned the parking lot. Her first look showed no sign of Kara. She half turned to head back inside, panic starting to roil in her gut, when she glimpsed the yellow truck turning into the parking lot. She stepped to the side, out of the way of the drop off, making sure she was visible, and within seconds the truck was rumbling to a stop in front of her.

The door opened as she approached and Kara started babbling as soon as Alex clambered in. “I’m so sorry I’m late, there was an accident on the freeway and I was going to call but then I realized I don’t have your number and you don’t have mine, and then I thought maybe you would have gotten a ride with someone, but I never gave you my address . . .”

Alex abruptly snapped, “It’s fine.”

Kar shut her mouth and nodded, the usual smile replaced with a small frown.

They sat in awkward silence until the freeway, when Alex finally worked up the courage to speak again.

“I’m sorry.” Alex said. “I shouldn’t have snapped and I apologize. You’ve been so kind and helpful, more than I deserve, and I really am grateful for everything you have done. It won’t happen again.”

Kara looked over at Alex and hesitantly smiled. “I understand. You’ve had a lot of changes and problems lately and you must be pretty stressed and confused. You’re forgiven.”

Alex ducked her head and muttered a quiet. “Thanks.”

The awkwardness was mostly gone, but the silence was still there. Kara didn’t even have a radio in her truck, just some sort of hi-tech gps looking thing. Alex opened and closed her mouth, wanting to start a conversation, but having trouble thinking of something to say. Eventually she blurted. “I like the butterflies.”

“What?”

“The butterflies. On Gertrude. I like them.” Alex mentally facepalmed. Small talk never had been her thing.

Kara’s smile grew a little. “Thanks! I painted them myself!”

“Do you like to paint?”

And just like that, the remaining awkwardness was gone. They talked and laughed all the way home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this was meant to be entirely happy and fluffy and light, but some drama snuck in there. I'm sorry?


	4. Domesticity

Jumping down from the truck once they’d reached the house, Alex turned to Kara. “You know, I don’t know your last name. Is that one of the things I can’t remember from last night?”

“Oh! No, I don’t think I ever said it.” Kara ran her fingers over her belt buckle before extending her hand. “Kara Stone.”

Alex reached out and gripped Kara’s hand in a firm handshake. “Alex Danvers.”

They stood there a moment, looking at each other, hands clasped, before Kara started giggling, causing Alex to pull back and chuckle in embarrassment.

A shout from the house caught Kara’s attention, and she darted through the door, leaving Alex to follow.

As soon as Kara entered the front room, Kal started talking.

<<Kara, I promise I was careful, I swear no one saw me . . .>>

<<We’ll talk about this later.>> Kara hissed. <<Alex is here and will be staying the night again, so human stuff only.”

<<Oh.>> Kal nodded, relieved to postpone the discussion. <<Okay.>>

“What do you want for dinner?” Kara asked, moving towards the kitchen, half listening to Alex walk up the stairs and drop her briefcase in the guest room.

“Takeout?” Clark asked eagerly. “Philadelphia Cheesesteaks?”

Kara jerked her head towards the upstairs, where she could hear Alex changing. “Kind of hard to explain how I got authentic Philly food when the only takeout place in town is Subway.”

Clark sighed. “How long is she staying?”

“As long as she needs to. Now what’s your second choice for dinner? Make a decision in 30 seconds or I’ll make pizza again.”

Clark looked very put upon. “Steak then. And rolls. Potatoes. Brussel sprouts. And chocolate cake.”

Kara started flipping through her expanding file folder and pulling out the recipes he’d requested. “I spoil you.”

“If it were up to you, we’d eat pizza and potstickers every night. I have a refined palate.”

“Well, take your refined palate upstairs and do your homework. This will take a while.”

Clark groaned. “Can’t I do it after dinner?”

Kara eyed him. “Go. Homework. Don’t forget your reading.”

He groaned again, but tromped out of the room.

“And there’s chores when you’re done!” Kara called after him, remembering to raise her voice, in case Alex were listening.

Alex walked into the kitchen, stopping to pet Bothgar, who was, as usual, hanging around, hoping to get fed. She had changed out of her professional looking work clothes and was wearing dark blue jeans, combat boots, and grey t-shirt. Kara thought she looked nice. Definitely more relaxed than earlier.

“May I help with dinner?” Alex asked politely.

“Sure.” Kara said. “We’re making chocolate cake, rolls, and mashed potatoes. Steaks will go on in a bit, as will the vegetables.”

“Wow. Okay.”

Kara glanced at Alex. She seemed a little unsure and hesitant about what to do, and Kara didn’t think it was the amount of food they were preparing that had her nervous.

“Can you chop potatoes?” Kara asked, piling a good 10 pounds of red potatoes on the table and setting a large pot next to them.

Alex relaxed. “I can do that. Do they need to be peeled? And how big of pieces?”

“About one and a half inches square, and not peeled. I like them better with the skins on. Healthier too, marginally. I mean, not so much with the amount of butter I put in, but it’s the thought, I suppose. How do you feel about garlic?”

“Uh.” Alex didn’t appear to follow Kara’s train of thought. “I like it on most stuff.”

“Great, could you crush a few cloves and put them in the pot with the potatoes?”

Alex raised in her eyebrows in understanding and nodded, pulling a knife from the block and flipping it in her hand absentmindedly as she collected a cutting board and set up at the table.

Kara turned the oven on and began mixing together the rolls. She hummed a little as she began kneading the dough. Glancing over, she caught Alex staring at her. Kara twitched her eyebrow in a question, her hands never stopping their rhythmic movements.

Alex blushed slightly. “Seeing how you make bread is really fascinating. I don’t know how to cook. I used to help my mom a little when I was younger, chop things, stir batter, that sort of thing, but never the whole recipe. Then I got into high school and college and med school and never had time.”

“You’ll have to come help with dinner again then, so you can learn.” Kara cheerfully suggested. “You shouldn’t have long hours at the hospital; nothing ever happens around here.”

“Uh.” Alex ducked her head and busied herself chopping the rest of the potatoes.

 

It did take awhile to finish dinner, what with boiling 10 pounds of potatoes, and letting the bread rise, and cooking a chocolate cake and waiting for it to cool while they mashed the potatoes and put the bread in the oven and started grilling the steaks and steaming the (fresh from the garden) vegetables before spreading decadent chocolate frosting on top of the now cooled cake, but the time passed in comfortable silence, only broken by Kara’s humming or Alex asking a question on what to do next.

Soon the table was set, the dog was gently nudged out from under their feet and Kara was shouting, “Clark! Dinner!”

They’d barely sat down before a thundering of footsteps came down the stairs and Clark was sitting at the table, shoveling food into his mouth.

“Slow down and chew first.” Kara admonished.

Clark rolled his eyes, but slowed down a bit.

Alex cleared her throat, after taking a few bites. “Um. I want to thank you for letting me stay here. I know this was unexpected and you helped when you didn’t even know me and I really appreciate it.”

“You’re welcome.” Kara said.

Clark snickered. “It’s fine. Kara’s always bringing home strays.”

“Clark!” Kara hissed. “She’s not a stray!”

Alex swallowed a bite of potatoes. “I kind of am. I mean, I don’t have a house yet.”

“But you have a job and you’re sticking around!” Kara protested. “You’re not a stray.”

Alex looked at Kara, who was fixing Alex with a very stern look. Alex felt like a stray, a bit lost, a bit confused, and rather lonely, but Kara seemed convinced she wasn’t.

“I guess not.” Alex conceded.

Kara nodded firmly and said “Good.” before turning to Clark. “How was school today? Did you talk to Lois?”

Clark blushed red and ducked his head deeper into his food. “School was fine. Lots of homework.”

Conversation flowed easily from there. The three cleaned up quickly, and then Kara and Clark headed out to do the evening farm chores. Alex hesitantly offered her help, but Kara waved her off. “Just make yourself comfortable. We won’t be long.”

Alex wandered into the living room and settled on the couch, staring at the fire Kara had just started. Bothgar followed her in and flopped on her feet. Alex tapped her fingers restlessly on the arm of the couch. She really wanted a drink, but it didn’t look like Kara had any alcohol in the house. She’d casually checked all the usual spots, and there wasn’t even any wine to go with dinner.

She found herself dozing; the couch was comfortable, the fire was warm, and feeling of Bothgar pressed against her made her feel safe. She woke with a start when her seat shifted. Alex opened her eyes to see Kara curled up in the other corner of the couch, her hair out of its ponytail and cascading down around her shoulders.

Kara smiled apologetically. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you.”

Alex rubbed Bothgar’s head. “It’s all right. I didn’t mean to fall asleep.”

Bothgar nudged her hand and she started scratching behind his ears.

Kara nodded and rested her head on her hand, staring into the fire.

Alex idly petted Bothgar for a few minutes before a thought popped into her head. “Do you believe in aliens?”

“Wha-what?” Kara stammered, sitting up and tapping her fingers on her belt, “What makes you ask that?”

“The shirt you loaned me to sleep in? ‘The Truth Is Out There’?”

“Oh, oh!” Kara chuckled a little nervously, but relaxed back into the couch. “That was sort of a gag gift from Winn. He says he knows aliens exist, but I don’t really think they do, so it’s sort of an inside joke. He’ll try to convince me, send me all sorts of ‘proof’ and give me alien themed gifts, that sort of thing.”

“Oh.” Alex struggled to find something else to say that wasn’t a heavy handed attempt at figuring out if Winn was her boyfriend or not. Obviously, nothing was going to happen between her and Kara, but a girl could dream.

“Do you?”

“What?” Alex asked, startled out of her thoughts about what it would be like to come home to this every night.

“Do you believe in aliens?”

“Well,” Alex paused, thinking. “Kind of? I mean, there are so many stars and planets in this galaxy and so many galaxies in the universe that there’s probably at least one other planet with intelligent life. I think it unlikely that they’ve come here though. I mean, why would they? We’re kind of a horrible species.”

“Mmm.” Kara hummed. “That makes sense.”

They were silent a few more minutes before Kara spoke again, whispering under her breath so quietly that Alex wasn’t sure she was supposed to hear it. “I think you’re a wonderful species, especially you.”

A passing glance at the clock had Alex groaning and pushing Bothgar aside so she could stand up. “Goodnight.” She said as she walked past Kara and headed up the stairs.

“Goodnight.” Kara replied. “Sweet dreams.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, a brief explanation about names, since it’s unlikely to get put into the actual story. I figure Kara wants to be as inconspicuous as possible when she gets to Earth, so she looks through phone books and records and picks something really common to be their last name and finds something appropriately human for Kal. She doesn’t change her first name because she’d already introduced herself to people before she thought of this.


	5. Texting

The next morning was frantic for everyone. One of the cows had hurt her foot somehow, so Kara was outside with the vet the whole time. Clark got up late, scarfed down two large bowls of cold cereal, and barely caught the bus. Alex got up on time, but panicked about getting to work since she’d never driven there before, so she also rushed through her breakfast hoping to leave early. Her car was sitting in the driveway, and Alex didn’t give it a second glance before throwing her stuff in the front seat and driving off.

Alex was halfway to work before she realized she hadn’t said goodbye, hadn’t thanked Kara again, and didn’t even have her number to call her and do so. She resolved to drop by the farm over the weekend with something nice as a thank you gift. Maybe not a bottle of wine though, (her usual go-to) because it didn’t look like Kara drank.

Alex found the employee parking and slid her new parking pass onto the dash so it was visible through the windshield. Pulling her briefcase off the front seat, she saw it had landed on top of an envelope with her name written across the top. Curious, but wanting to get into work, she grabbed the envelope and shoved it into her briefcase for later.

 

Later came at lunch. Betsy insisted she take the full hour she was given (“This is the last week you’ll get a proper lunch break, take advantage”), so Alex walked over to the hospital cafeteria and bought a slice of pizza. She snuck past Betsy with her bag of grease on her way back to her office and settled in at her desk, fully intending to review cases while she ate.

She flipped open her briefcase to get at some notes half way through the first case, and rediscovered the envelope. Immediately putting aside her hospital work, Alex tore it open.

It was full of papers. The first page had Kara’s name, phone number, and address neatly printed. The next six pages were notes on various houses and apartments for rent within 20 miles of the hospital, complete with Kara’s commentary on each option in the ridiculously neat hand that Alex was beginning to recognize. The last couple of pages were recommendations for restaurants, grocery stores, furniture places, plumbers, internet providers, and other services that Alex would probably need once she found someplace to rent..

Alex sat back in her chair, stunned. This was literally the most thoughtful thing anyone had done for her. The list of places for rent saved her hours of legwork. And the commentary was pretty funny too.

Alex dug into her pocket and pulled out her cell phone. She created a new contact with all of Kara’s information (checked and double checked) and opened up a text message. Pausing for a few moments to think, she finally typed out a message and hit send before her courage left her.

_Hey Kara, it’s Alex. Thank you for the packet of suggestions; they are really going to make my life easier. I totally owe you one. Or three. Maybe I could take you out for dinner or something?_

Putting the text out of her mind, she picked up the first page of house suggestions and started making calls.

At the first cheery “Hello!”, Alex went into professional mode. “Ms. Cooper? My name is Dr. Danvers, and I just moved into town. I understand you have a few places to rent.”

“Oh, yes! Kara said you might be calling. I’ve got several excellent apartments and a couple of houses, all near the hospital, and some further away, if you’d rather not be so close to work. Are you looking for anything specific, or just browsing? And what sort of price range are we looking at?”

Alex was still stuck on the first sentence. “You know Kara? Does everyone know Kara?”

“Oh, probably. I don’t think I know anyone who doesn’t know her. She’s the kindest and most friendly person in town, if a bit odd. I think she might be autistic or have asperger’s or something like that. But you would know better than me, I suppose, being a doctor.”

A spark of annoyance flared up in Alex. Didn’t the real estate agent know the hurt that could come from casual gossip like that? Throwing around words without knowing what they mean, especially if this was an assumption and not an actual diagnosis, could lead to people treating Kara differently or, worse, like she was somehow less. “I’m not that kind of doctor, Ms. Cooper.”

The chill in Alex’s voice must have been audible, because Ms. Cooper backtracked a little. “Oh, I don’t mean anything by it. Kara’s an absolute sweetheart. You picked a very good person for first contact.”

“Right.” Alex rubbed the bridge of her nose. “For houses, I don’t want anything too big, and I’d like it in a quiet neighborhood. I’m willing to rent or buy. Nothing that will take too much work; I will probably be busy at the hospital.”

“Great, great, I think I’ve got just the thing!”

Alex rolled her eyes at the perpetual cheeriness that every real estate agent seemed to have, but arranged to view three different places that evening after work. She also made a reservation at the hotel Kara had recommended and looked up the nearest laundromat. Just as her lunch break was ending, she got a text back from Kara.

Kara Stone: _Alex! Hey! I’m glad you like the suggestions. You don’t owe me a thing, but we should totally do something._

Alex frowned at the message. Was Kara just being friendly? She didn’t sound particularly enthusiastic about spending more time with Alex, and the way the real estate agent had talked, Kara probably was this friendly to everybody. Shrugging to herself, she went back to work, determined not to think about it until later.

 

Walking out to her car after work, she stopped in confusion. She swore she had parked her car in this spot, but this did not look like her car. It was clean for one, thing, and didn’t have any rust stains. In fact, it looked brand new. It didn’t have the ding in the door from when she loaned it to a friend in college and he opened the door into a tree, or the scratch from when she drove too close to a traffic cone. It had an air freshener hanging from the rearview mirror, and the roof rack was no longer crooked. Not her car.

But, it had her piles of junk in the back, her parking pass in the windshield, and her license plate number on the front. Even her keys fit the door and ignition.

Alex walked around the car, cataloguing all the changes, before sliding into the front seat and pulling out her phone.

_You fixed my car?!_

Kara Stone: _Yeah, yesterday. Remember you ran into the fence pole and needed a few repairs?_

_I thought you were just making it run again, not making it like new._

Kara Stone: _Oh, well, I had the time and supplies. You don’t mind, do you?_

_No, but you’ve already done so much for me. I’m seriously in your debt._

Kara Stone: _Don’t worry about it. I like helping._

_Let me pay you back for the parts, at least._

Kara Stone: _Only if you do it in ice cream._

Alex really didn’t know what to say to the last text (which seemed to be a common theme around Kara) so she shoved her phone back in her pocket and started the car. She didn’t want to be late to her appointment.

 

The first place Ms. Cooper had mentioned was also the first one on Kara’s list. When Alex pulled up (after getting lost twice, for some reason her GPS tried to get her to turn in the middle of a bridge and then decided she needed to do three u-turns in a row), a smartly dressed woman came down the front steps to greet her.

“You’re Dr. Danvers?”

“Yes.” Alex reached out and shook the real estate agent’s hand. “You’re Ms. Cooper?”

“Yep, it’s a pleasure to meet you. Now, as you can see, this is what’s termed a ‘small house’, that’s a complete home, not an apartment, with a floor plan of under 1,000 square feet. It might be small in numbers, but the open design makes it feel much bigger . . .”

   

    One house and two apartments later, and Alex was finally driving back to the hotel. It was nine o’clock at night and Alex was tired. It’s not like walking around a house was strenuous or anything, but there was something about searching for a place to live that was exhausting. All she wanted was a good stiff drink and a comfortable bed. She eyed the hotel suspiciously as she drove up. The beds were comfortable enough, according to Kara, but would they have a proper bar? Sighing, she grabbed her suitcase and checked in.

 

-

   

    Kara had been having a bad day. She was disappointed that she hadn’t gotten to say goodbye to Alex, or fix her another yummy breakfast (Kara had the feeling Alex didn’t eat enough), or even see her at all. Dairy cow number 3 had started making trouble early in the morning and Kara could only see enough about the problem to call the vet. Then, when the vet got there, the cow was decidedly uncooperative. Once she and the vet had been able to calm the cow down enough to see what was wrong, it’d gone pretty smoothly, but before that happened, they’d both gotten kicked, and had straw, dirt, other unmentionables kicked all over them. To top it off, Clark hadn’t gotten his chores done before going to school, and the other animals were very unhappy they had missed a meal.

But, getting Alex’s message made everything better, even if it did sound rather stiff. Kara floated six feet in the air and actually squealed when she read it. She gleefully saved the number in her phone as ‘Dr. Alex <3’ and texted back. No reply, but Kara knew Alex was a busy doctor. Probably off saving lives, so she didn’t have time to text back. Kara was sure to run into Alex at some point, and now she had her number even!

 

She was flying to Philly to pick up dinner when she got Alex’s next text. She bit her lip and tried to reply casually. Had she been too enthusiastic with the car and the gifts? Winn said sometimes she went a little overboard, but she just wanted Alex to be happy and healthy and feel _welcome_ because it was obvious she was coming from something bad, and, _Rao_ , did Kara know how that felt and having a friend in a new place really made it so much better.

 

Kara had just gotten home with the food when Kal came bounding in and slung his backpack into the corner with his shoes and coat.

<<Kara! Can I go over to Jimmy’s house tonight?>>

Kara gave him a pointed look and Kal froze, then carefully hung his backpack and coat up and tucked his shoes neatly on the shoe rack.

Kara set a couple plates on the table. <<You didn’t do your chores this morning.>>

<<I woke up late. I would have missed the bus. It was an accident, and I couldn’t use my powers because both the vet and that doctor were here.>>

<<That’s understandable. Accidents happen, and I’m glad that you were careful about using your powers. But, remember, these animals are our responsibility. They work for us and feed us and in return we ensure they live happy and healthy lives. Now, what could you have done differently?>>

Kal groaned and shuffled his feet. <<Not hit snooze on my alarm. And then, when I realized I was going to be late, told you, so we could work out how to get the chores done and me to school and the cow taken care of.>>

<<That would have been good. I know we all make mistakes, but you shouldn’t hide from them.>>

<<So is that a ‘no’ for going over to Jimmy’s?>>

Kara sighed. <<Do all your homework, and your chores first.>>

Kal nodded eagerly, then ducked his head. <<And for missing my chores this morning?>>

<<Extra chores on Saturday.>>

<<Okay.>> Kal did his best to look penitent.

Kara hid her second sigh. If they’d been on Krypton he would have been sorted into a guild already and there would have been severe consequences for missing one of duties. But they were on Earth, and Kara was no longer sure the Kryptonian way was the perfect way. She wasn’t sure the human ways were better, either, though. It was all very confusing.

Kara nodded to the bag of sandwiches on the table. <<Eat up. If you hurry, you can get over to Jimmy’s by the time he’s done with dinner.>>

Kal beamed. <<Thanks, Kara!>>

 

Once Clark had left, with a promise to be home by 10, Kara worked through the evening chores and curled up with Bothgar on the couch. She spent a few peaceful moments staring at the fire (it reminded her of way the light would play on the buildings back on Krypton) before her phone buzzed.

Kara rolled her head to side. She was on the couch and her phone was on the table by the door. Sometimes she really wished telekinesis was part of her power set. She reluctantly pushed Bothgar off her lap and shuffled to the phone. Picking it up, she gave a half smile and settled herself back down on the couch.

Dr. Alex <3: _What’s your favorite kind of ice cream?_

_Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough._

_Or Moose Tracks._

_Or Pecan Praline._

_Oooh! Or Neapolitan!_

_Or Rocky Road!_

_And sometimes straight vanilla just really hits the spot._

_Or Mint ‘n’ Chip._

Dr. Alex <3: _You don’t have a favorite, do you?_

_They’re just all so good, you know?_

Dr. Alex <3: _Yeah._

There was a pause in the texting. Kara scratched Bothgar’s ears and debated, before deciding to just go for it. No reward without risk, after all!

_How was your day?_

Dr. Alex <3: _Fine._

Dr. Alex <3: _Lots of paperwork still, but I start my rotation Monday._

Dr. Alex <3: _How’s the cow?_

_The cow?_

Dr. Alex <3: _Clark said this morning that you were out in the barn with the vet looking at one of the cows?_

_Oh! Yeah, one of the milk cows stepped on something and has a bit of a sore on her foot._

Dr. Alex <3: _Will she be okay?_

Kara beamed at Alex’s thoughtfulness.

_She’ll be fine. I just need to keep her on some antibiotics and make sure she doesn’t put too much weight on it._

Dr. Alex <3: _Oh, that’s good._

Another pause, while Kara tried to think of something else to keep the conversation going. She was saved when her phone buzzed again.

Dr. Alex <3: _I looked at a couple houses tonight._

_Yeah? See anything you like?_

Dr. Alex <3: _I really like the first one. The one that was at the top of your list?_

_The small house? It’s really cute._

Dr. Alex <3: _I think it even has enough room for all my books._

Dr. Alex <3: _I’m going to look at a few more places, of course. No need to make a hasty decision._

_Of course._

Dr. Alex <3: _I really like it._

_Let me know when you’re ready to move in?_

Dr. Alex <3: _I guess? Why?_

_So I can come help you clean and decorate and unpack._

_It’s more fun working with someone else. We’ll make a pizza party out of it._

Kara worried at her lip and looked at Bothgar. <<Do you think that was too much?>>

Bothgar boofed sleepily.

<<Yeah, you’re right. Nice can never be too much.>>

_Unless you don’t like pizza?_

Dr. Alex <3: _You really like food, don’t you._

_Yep! That’s pretty much all you need to know about me._

Dr. Alex <3: _I’m sure there’s more to you than that._

Dr. Alex <3: _But it’s late and I’ve got work tomorrow. I’ll talk to you later. Goodnight._

_Goodnight. Sweet dreams._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I headcanon that Kara has really neat handwriting (when she’s not writing Kryptonese or shorthand) because the roman alphabet is just so different from Kryptonese and she wanted to make sure she did it completely correct when she learned it.
> 
> Small houses really are the most adorable thing ever. I think they would be great for Alex, since she spends most of her time at work anyway. [This](https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/c9/0a/4e/c90a4e41a498db8feb8a06f9d48569e8.jpg) is kind of the floor plan I was thinking of. It even has a fireplace!


	6. Game Night

Kara and Alex texted periodically over the next couple of days. It was mostly Kara sending Alex cute pictures of animals captioned with excessive amounts of emojis, and Alex responding with single word answers or the occasional question about the farm, but they both enjoyed it.

Thursday evening, Alex once again arrived at the hotel exhausted. She’d had to meet with the board of directors of the hospital and then spend the rest of the day playing the politics game. While she didn’t really regret leaving California, she did miss knowing her way around the drama there. She considered using the hotel’s gym. They had the usual treadmill, elliptical, and standing bike, but only a few free weights and a lone lifting machine, and no punching bag. Deciding that the treadmill was better than nothing, Alex quickly changed into some workout clothes and grabbed her headphones.

After running enough to feel it the next morning, Alex decided to dig a book out of the boxes in the back of her car. She had a couple books she really enjoyed to read and reread. Comfort books, if you will. But, when she swung open the hatch of her station wagon, she found, to her surprise, a basket tucked between her lamp and her sole box of kitchenware / dishes / linens. The basket was wrapped in fabric and had a pretty ribbon and a card attached to the top.

Alex cautiously reached out and pulled the card off the basket to read.

    _Hey, Alex! Here’s your official “Welcome to the Neighborhood” gift basket! Or not so official, really, because I don’t think anyone else does this. And it’s not really the neighborhood, but it is the same city. Or county. Area? Anyway, I’m really glad you’re here! Have a wonderful day! <3 Kara _

    Alex shook her head, and peered into the basket. Neatly arranged were 3 boxes of chocolates (milk and dark and a mixed batch), a nice bottle of whiskey, and a bottle of homemade bubble bath.

She slung the basket over her arm, dug through the boxes until she found the books she had been looking forward, and strode into the hotel. Once she reached her room, she dumped her stuff in the chair and flopped onto the bed. She rubbed her eyes a couple times, then pulled out her phone. She fumbled with the contacts a moment before hitting dial.

 _“Hello?”_ Kara’s voice came faintly through the speakers. Alex checked the clock. She probably caught Kara in the middle of the evening feeding.

“Hey Kara, it’s Alex.”

 _“Oh, hey!”_ There was a click, and Kara’s voice became much clearer. Alex thought maybe Kara transferred her to bluetooth.

“Thank you.”

_“I haven’t done anything yet.”_

“For the gift basket?” Alex finished.

 _“Oh, are you just now finding it?”_ Kara seemed a bit puzzled.

“When did you put it in my car?”

_“Monday.”_

“Oh. Well, thanks again.”

_“Sure thing. Oh, hey! You should come to game night tomorrow. It’ll just be me, Winn, and Lucy. The kids are going to be over at Jimmy’s.”_

“Wait, what do you mean ‘yet’?”

 _“Nothing! Nothing at all.”_ Kara whistled a little. _“Are you going to come tomorrow?”_

“What time?”

 _“Seven.”_ Kara responded cheerfully. Alex could hear the thunk of a gate closing. _“I think you’d have fun, if you came. Unless you have other plans.”_ Alex could practically hear the frown in Kara’s voice. _“It is a Friday night.”_

“I’ll think about it.” Alex conceded.

 

-

 

Friday night found Kara zipping around the house with her superspeed, cleaning and straightening and baking all at once. Winn slouched on the couch, fiddling with his phone.

“What’s with you tonight? It’s just game night.”

Kara coughed into her hand while muttering something, then dashed to take the cookies out of the oven.

“What’d you say? I’m not the one with superhearing. And you’d better slow down, Lucy will be here soon and she said she was bringing someone.”

“And Alex.”

“Huh?”

“Alex. The doctor? I invited her too. Though, I don’t know if she’s coming or not.”

Winn looked over at her. Kara stood in the doorway between living room and hall, nervously tracing her belt: the pattern on her buckle, each tool neatly along the sides, the curve of the end fitted under a belt loop, then back to the buckle.

“You look as nervous as you did before you asked Sue and Steve to prom. Together.” He snickered.

Kara glared. “How was I supposed to know that was weird? I liked them both, they liked each other . . . and you’re not helping!”

Winn chuckled, but got up. “Sorry. Look, go finish in the kitchen. Stay at human speed. You don’t want to slip up in front of your new friend. I’ll stay out here and set up the games.”

“Okay. Okay.” Kara fluttered her hands and darted back into the kitchen barely slowly enough to be human.

Winn grabbed Kara’s extensive stack of board games from the closet and deposited them on the coffee table along with the ones he’d brought. Kara stuck her head around the corner and lit the fire with a blast of her heat vision, just missing Winn.

Winn shot a half hearted glare in her direction and adjusted his tie. “Aliens.”

Bothgar woofed a couple of times and padded in the direction of the front door. There came a knock on the door and Winn yelped. “I’ve got it!”

He skidded to the door and flung it open. “You must be Alex!”

“Uh, yeah. Hi.”

“I’m Winslow Schott Jr. but _please_ call me Winn.”

“Oh, right!” Alex’s face cleared. “Winn. Kara’s mentioned you. Nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you too.” Winn waved her in the house and took the grocery bag Alex brought, glancing at the six packs in her other hand as he did so. “Ooh, chips _and_ beer, I like you already.”

He wove into the kitchen ahead of Alex, just enough ahead so he could look pointedly at the hot pads Kara wasn’t using to take the cookies out of the oven.

“Alex is here.” he announced proudly. “I’m going to go finish setting up the games.”

“Alex!” Kara spun around and wrapped her arms around Alex. “I’m soooooo glad you came! And you brought food!”

Alex flinched slightly before gently patting Kara on the back and easing out the hug. “Well, my mother always said I shouldn’t go empty handed to a party . . .”

“Thank you.” Kara beamed. “I’m really glad you’re here.”

Alex surveyed the spread of cookies and trail mix and vegetables and soda and little sandwiches and cream puffs and carefully set her beer on the corner of the table.

Another knock at the door had Kara racing into the living room. “Lucy! It’s been ages!”

The woman coming through the door laughed. “It’s only been a few months.”

Kara pouted. “That’s ages.”

Lucy shrugged and gave Kara a big hug. “I want you all to meet someone.”

Lucy turned to the door and waved another woman in. “Everybody, this is Vasquez. We’re dating.”

Kara squealed, legitimately squealed, and wrapped Vasquez up in a hug. “Hi! I’m Kara!”

Once Kara had let her go and bounced back a bit, Winn leaned forward and shook her hand. “I’m Winn. Glad to have someone else around to help rein Lucy in.”

Vasquez smiled. “How do you know I won’t just encourage her?”

“Oh, oh!” Kara interrupted. “This is Alex. She just moved here.” Kara waved towards Alex, who was leaning in the doorway, clutching a beer.

Lucy turned to face Alex incredulously. “Moved _here_? Like, intentionally?”

Alex lifted one shoulder. “I got a job at the hospital here, so yeah.”

Lucy gave her a once over. “Okay.” Lucy turned and scanned the room. “Where’s Clark?”

“Over at Jimmy’s.” Kara replied. “With your sister?”

“Lois hasn’t been talking to me.” Lucy replied. “But enough about that. Who’s ready to be destroyed at Risk?”

That got everyone moving, filling plates with food and setting up the board. What followed was an entirely vicious game. Winn was first out, but didn’t seem bothered by it, just standing up to get more food and spending the rest of the game making unhelpful suggestions. Alex held her own, until she was attacked first by Kara and then Lucy in a pincer motion that left her with one lone territory that Vasquez easily took out. Surprisingly, Vasquez was next to go, leaving Kara and Lucy locked in battle.

Winn tapped Vasquez and Alex on their shoulders. “Come on, they’ll be at it for ages.”

Vasquez and Alex obligingly followed him into the kitchen, Alex grabbing another beer off the table.

“So, Vasquez.” Winn started. “Where are you from, what do you do, how did you meet Lucy?”

Alex half paid attention to the answers (California, technical analyst for the military, no I can’t tell you more than that it’s classified, Lucy and I worked an op together and then I asked her out) while she drank her beer and leaned against the doorjamb, watching Kara out of the corner of her eye. She focused back on the conversation when she heard Vasquez ask “So, you and Kara, are you two together?” Alex was very relieved she didn’t have to ask that.

Winn coughed. “No. We’re not. No.”

“Okay.” Vasquez seem amiable. “It’s just, Lucy hardly mentions one of you without mentioning the other.”

“Ah.” Winn ran his fingers through his hair. “Yeah. No, we’re just friends. I mean, best friends, but not dating. I was kind of a nerd back in junior high / high school and she was a bit of an outcast. She stopped some guys from bullying me, and we’ve just hung out ever since.”

“So she really is as nice as she seems.”

“Nicer. Right, Alex?”

Alex turned to face the two of them. “Yeah, she’s really something else.”

Just then Lucy crowed from the front room. “Finally! I beat you, I beat you!”

“Not fair!” Kara replied. “I was distracted!”

“You’ve got to stay focused, Kara. Focused. Not my fault you don’t have your head in the game.”

“I demand a rematch!”

Winn hastened to intervene. “Let’s not scare off the new people just yet, okay? You guys can rematch later, Lucy will be here for a while. Or you could always play online, like I’ve suggested a million times.”

“It’s not the same.” Kara and Lucy replied together.

Winn rolled his eyes, looking for support from Vasquez and Alex. Vasquez shrugged. “I’m all for online games, but Lucy likes to look you in the eye and intimidate you.”

“How about a non competitive game?” Alex asked. “I dunno, like Chutes & Ladders or something.”

Kara snorted. “If there’s a winner, it’ll be competitive.”

“Oh!” Winn hurried over to the pile of games. “I got Pandemic and the expansion pack, we could play that! It’s cooperative.”

Alex had never played it before, but it turned out to be a lot of fun. Eventually, game night devolved into Lucy, Winn, and Kara trying to one up each other with embarrassing stories. The three had grown up together, and there were plenty to be had.

Alex leaned back against her chair during one particularly amusing story about a goat and the high school cafeteria and found herself properly relaxing for the first time in weeks. She turned her head slightly and took in Kara’s gesticulations as she described the reactions of the student body. Lucy and Vasquez were curled up together on the smaller couch laughing uproariously. Winn and Kara were on the ends of the other couch, Bothgar having squeezed his way in between them. Kara had muttered something about him not being allowed on the couch, but had made no move to push him off.

Alex curled up at little more in her large and squishy chair. She could get used to this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Um, so in case it wasn't clear, in this fic I'm writing Kara as pan. I'm not sure if that's something I need to tag, and it won't really factor into the story because this is strictly Kara / Alex. So, yeah. Let me know if you want me to tag it.


	7. Ice Cream and a Red Checkered Tablecloth

Saturday morning Alex woke up at six. It was entirely unintentional, but once up, she couldn’t get herself back to sleep. She wandered down to the workout room, which was deserted. She supposed that was to be expected on a Saturday morning. She spent a good 45 minutes on the treadmill, then finished up with three rounds of pull-ups, sit ups, and push ups. She finished with a cool down on the elliptical. She really needed to find a good gym in town. A martial arts one. Krav Maga would be best, but she would settle for kickboxing, or boxing, or literally anything that let her hit stuff.

She eventually went back to her hotel room to shower and eat a smattering of breakfast. She glanced at the clock. It was just after nine. Alex was pretty sure Kara was up and she had planned to go over, but she was nervous. She didn’t think Kara would be unhappy to see her, not after the past week, but there was still that nagging doubt. Straightening her spine, Alex nodded firmly, pulled on her leather jacket, and walked out the door.

She darted back in the hotel room half a minute later to collect her wallet and the thank you gift she’d arranged for Kara.

Alex stopped by the store on her way to Kara’s and bought five gallons of ice cream. (Neapolitan, Cookies ‘n’ Cream, Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, Rocky Road, and Vanilla) She’d seen how much Kara and Clark could eat, so she wasn’t too worried five gallons was an excessive amount. And, if it was too much, well, ice cream lasts just fine in the freezer.

 

It took some careful wrangling and balancing, but Alex managed to carry all five gallons up to the house and knock on the door. She’d barely pulled her hand back when Kara swung open the door. “Alex! Ice cream!”

Alex smiled a little. “Uh, you did say I could pay you for the car repairs with ice cream. I didn’t know how much the parts were, but I figured this would be a pretty good down payment.”

Kara stared in awe. “I love you.”

Alex blinked. She wasn’t sure if Kara was talking to her or to the ice cream.

Kara shook herself out of her daze and stepped aside, taking half of the load from Alex. “Come in, come in.”

Alex followed Kara into the house and through to a massive pantry Alex hadn’t noticed before. Kara opened up a massive freezer and piled the ice cream on one of the shelves.

“Can you stick around for a bit, or do you have stuff to do?” Kara asked.

“I can stick around. I wouldn’t be intruding?”

Kara shook her head. “I like having you around.”

“Oh.” Alex wrinkled her forehead slightly before remembering. “Oh, I have something else too.”

She reached into her back pocket and pulled out an envelope and passed it over to Kara.

Kara cocked her head curiously. “What’s this?”

“Um, just a thank you. Because you’re really nice and helpful and awesome . . .” Alex trailed off.

Kara opened the envelope eagerly. “Coupons for The Bay Water Park?”

“Uh, yeah. They have indoor surfing there. It’s not quite the same as surfing on the ocean, of course, but it’s a good place to learn basics, and it’s pretty fun. You can take lessons, and there are enough tickets for you to take Clark and a friend or two.”

Kara didn’t say anything, looking from the tickets to Alex and back again.

“Uh.” Alex rubbed the back of her neck. “You said you’d never been surfing, so I thought maybe you’d like to try.”

Kara lunged forward and wrapped Alex up in another hug. That made two in two days, more than Alex had gotten in months, years probably, since she and her ex hadn’t really cuddled much. Alex cautiously wrapped her arms around Kara.

“Thank you.” Kara said into Alex’s shoulder.

“You’re welcome.” Alex gently rested her hands on Kara’s back. She really wasn’t sure about hug etiquette.

Kara pulled away, but kept her hand on Alex’s shoulder as she led her back into the kitchen. “Have you ridden before?”

“Ridden what?” Alex asked. She wasn’t sure where this change of subject came from.

“Horses.”

“No.”

“Would you like to?” Kara asked. She moved away to face Alex and bit her lip. “It’s just, I was planning on riding the fences today, and I’d like to spend more time with you, and this way I could show you the rest of the farm. We could pack a picnic, and eat out by the pond.”

“Uhhh.” Alex looked at Kara, who had widened her eyes into something that would look appropriate on a puppy dog. “Yeah, I think I would like that.”

Kara beamed. “Great! Um, just to warn you, it will take several hours to make all the rounds, so you’ll probably be a bit sore tomorrow. I mean, you’re obviously in great shape, but riding horses takes different muscles. And you’ll want sunscreen, I’m sure. You can borrow a hat too.”

Alex glanced down at her jeans, polo shirt, and leather jacket. “Will these clothes work for riding?”

“They should. Those jeans look flexible enough.” Kara blushed faintly at her words. “Let’s just pack a lunch, and then I can introduce you to Thumper.”

“Thumper?”

“The horse you’ll be riding. He’s an absolute sweetheart. Very gentle. Good for a first ride.”

Kara nodded firmly and disappeared, only to reappear seconds later with an honest-to-goodness wicker picnic basket and a red checkered tablecloth. She pulled stuff out of the fridge and they began making sandwiches to pack. Kara made ham sandwiches, chicken salad, and a few that appeared to be just leftovers from the fridge piled onto slices of bread.

Alex made one sandwich: ham, lettuce, pickle, cheese, and a thin layer of mayo.

Kara looked at the sole sandwich Alex was placing in the basket. “Will that be enough?”

“Should be plenty.” Alex replied.

Kara nodded, nibbled her lip, and snuck an extra sandwich made with those exact specifications into the basket when Alex wasn’t looking. She also added a few apples and some peas and some of the chips and desserts left over from game night. A few bottles of water slid down the sides and Kara carefully tucked the tablecloth over everything.

Kara allowed Alex to carry the basket out to the barn because she had to grab the fencing supplies. It didn’t take long to saddle the horses and get everything loaded up. Clark found them part way through the process and Kara stopped to give him his next few sets of chores, making sure he’d completed his homework. He needed to work off his mistake from Tuesday, but school came first.

Alex followed Kara’s instructions about mounting and riding perfectly, and soon they were headed around the perimeter of the property. They started out slowly, and Alex soon got the hang of it. She didn’t want to try anything more than a walk, but that was fine, since Kara was checking for breaks in the fence as they went. Alex had the food tied to her saddle, while Kara carried supplies to make any fence repairs needed. They only had to stop once to restring a bit of line before they got to the pond.

The pond was terribly idyllic. A few trees grew around the edge, there were ducks floating peacefully on the water, and there was a gentle green slope of grass. Kara hopped down from her horse, and reached out to Alex to help her down. Alex was appreciative, as Thumper felt a lot taller than when she had mounted. She grabbed both of Kara’s hands as she slid down from the saddle. Alex had practically all of her weight on Kara during the dismount, but Kara didn’t move a centimeter.

Alex did her best not to imagine the kind of muscles it would take to do that.

Once Alex was down, Kara loosely tied the horses to a tree and started spreading the tablecloth on the ground. Alex carefully stretched while Kara did that. She knew stretching properly would help prevent the soreness already seeping into her legs and core.

Soon, all the food was spread out, and both Alex and Kara flopped down onto the tablecloth. They ate for a few moments before continuing their conversation.

“I’m signing a mortgage on Wednesday.” Alex started.

“Yeah? That’s super exciting. Was it one of the houses you looked at this week? Well, of course it was, you wouldn’t buy a house without looking at it first.”

Alex chuckled. “Yeah. It’s that first one.”

Kara smiled in wonder. “Yeah?”

“You have good taste.”

Kara blushed again, and twitched her fingers against her belt. “When are you moving in?”

Alex shrugged. “I’m not sure. I’ve got night shifts this next week and need to at least get a mattress before trying to sleep there, but I don’t much care for shopping, especially with all the other stuff that I have to do to move. I could order one, I suppose.”

“There’s a lot to do, when moving.” Kara agreed. “Change of address, insurance, all the packing and unpacking and arranging of furniture and meeting the neighbors.”

Alex shook her head. “Oh no. No meeting of neighbors for me. Especially with my wacky work schedule. It’s not going to happen.”

Kara nudged Alex gently with her shoulder. “You might not have a choice. They’ll probably come over and introduce themselves.”

Alex frowned. “You think?”

Kara nodded. “This isn’t the city. Everybody is in everybody else’s business.”

“Everybody was in my business in the city too.” Alex muttered.

Kara nudged Alex again, but this time she stayed leaning against Alex. “What time do you get off in the mornings?”

Alex twisted slightly so she could look down at Kara. “Seven. Why?”

Kara ducked her head and wouldn’t meet Alex’s eyes. “Just curious.”

“Uh huh.” Alex didn’t believe Kara, but decided not to press it. It wasn’t like she could stop whatever Kara was planning, anyway.

They sat quietly for a few moments, watching the birds on the water.

Suddenly, Kara sat up straight. “We’re friends, right?”

Alex blinked in confusion. “Yeah, I think so.” She waved at the picnic set up. “Isn’t this the sort of thing friends do?”

“I thought so.” Kara nodded a few times, a small frown on her face, before curling her arms around her legs. “I wasn’t sure though, so I thought I would ask. I’ve made that mistake before, you know? I don’t have many friends, and the ones I’ve got I’ve had since pretty soon after I got here, so making friends is unfamiliar and I didn’t want to assume.”

Alex clenched her fist at the thought of someone telling Kara they weren’t friends. “Well, I don’t have many friends either, so we can figure it out together, okay?”

Kara’s brilliant smile came back. “Okay.”


	8. Flashback; Three Weeks Post Crash-Landing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, so this is a quick flashback about Kara. Some of this information you'll get in the story, but some scenes I think are better shown. That and I wrote them already, so might as well publish, right?  
> Also, this is the second update today, and I've rearranged chapters, so make sure you don't miss anything!

Kara stumbled and, in falling, put her hand through the fence along the side of the road. Rao, walking was hard with new gravity, and her feet trying to fly every other step and Kal pulling this way and that in her arms in his attempts to catch the dust or plants or one of the strange animals Kara had yet to learn the names of.

She carefully eased the slats of the fence upright, fastening them together with the bent nails that had popped out. It still looked suspiciously like someone had put their fist through the boards. Kara worried her lip. She was getting better about not breaking things, but even a slip like this could cause lots of problems. Deciding there was nothing more she could do to fix it, Kara kept walking.

Another half a mile and the fence turned, following a weeded-over driveway. Kara hefted Clark further up her hip and trudged down along the ruts. This was the fourth farm today, and Kara was really hoping she had better luck here than she had at the others.

 

Kara cautiously walked up the rickety porch steps and knocked as hard as she dared on the door.

It was soon opened by a man, dressed in dirty work clothes, and twisting a toothpick in his teeth.

“Do you need a farm hand?” Kara blurted.

The man snorted. “Are you offering? You’re a bit young, aren’t you?”

“I am strong. And I am a hard worker. You can . . . pay me under the table?” Kara cautiously repeated what she had heard someone say a couple days ago. She had been rummaging in a restaurant’s dumpster when the exit door had banged open and the cook came out with a young man. Their hushed (but fervent) discussion had led to the boy getting a job washing dishes and getting paid in cash. Kara had thought to try the same, but after breaking the metal dumpster while she was getting out, thought maybe she shouldn’t start with something quite as fragile as dishware.

The man eyed her. “How many hours a day can you work?”

Kara blanched. How did humans divide their time again? “How many can you pay me for?”

The man snorted, again, replacing his toothpick with a cigarette but neglecting to light it. “The farm could use three men working round the clock to keep up with it. Can you work 8 hours a day?”

Kara nodded eagerly. She had no idea how long that was, but she would do it.

“And the boy?” He nodded to Kal in her arms. “He can’t be here; it’s not safe, and there’s no one to watch him while you work.”

“No, no, he will have a, a, a keeper,” Kara assured.

“Okay.” The cigarette switched sides. “This won’t be a temporary thing.”

“I can work as long as you need me,” Kara promised, hope growing. Maybe she would actually get a job here.

“And when school starts?”

“I can work before or after or both,” Kara said earnestly, making a note to enroll in school as soon as she got papers. And to figure out when it started.

The man grunted, considering. “All right. Fifty dollars a day, and you’ll be on trial for the first week. If you can’t keep up, you’re out and no complaining. If you make it the week, you’ll be hired permanent and I’ll give you sixty a day. If you make it a couple of months, I’ll up your pay.”

“Okay.” Kara nodded eagerly. “It is a contract.”

“Yeah, a contract.” The man shook his head and turned back towards the house. “Be here at 7 tomorrow.”

“I will. Thank you!” Kara called after him.

She walked back up the driveway, checked to make sure no-one was watching, and shot into the sky. She had things to do, to get ready for her new job, and first of all was to get herself a watch.


	9. Let's Not Talk About This

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> . . . and we are back to the original timeline.  
>  Okay, I really wrestled with this chapter, but I think it's finally saying what I want it to. Either that or I've just given up on it. You decide.

Kara had not been wrong about being sore. Alex woke up Sunday morning stiff as a board. Groaning, she rolled out of bed and faceplanted on the floor. She pushed herself up into a couple push ups, then moved into stretches. It only took half an hour before she felt she could walk again. She threw on some workout clothes (the only way to get rid of lactic acid was to work it out) and headed down to the exercise room. 

A light workout later and Alex was feeling better, even though she really wanted to hit something. Unfortunately, there was nothing in the hotel she could acceptably pummel, so she showered and started planning out her week. She had too much to do. Paperwork for buying the house, insurance for the house, changing her car registration, changing her address, malpractice insurance through the new hospital, finding a gym where she could spar, shopping for some furniture (or at least a futon to sleep on), getting a new driver’s license, going through all the policies for work . . . her phone buzzed, startling her. Alex looked at the screen, sighed, and answered it.

“Hey, Mom.”

. . .

“No, Mom, it’s a promotion, I have my own office and everything.”

. . .

“I know the hospital isn’t as large or prestigious, but I’ll have more responsibility and autonomy and more research opportunities.”

. . .

“No, not yet.”

. . .

“Dr. Griffin is transferring to the outpatient center in a month or so; she’s sticking around to help the ER with the transition.”

. . .

“She’s brilliant at her job, she just has a kid that she wants to spend regular time with. You know, like a family.”

. . .

“I’m learning a lot from her. I wasn’t learning anything at Cedar’s.”

. . .

“I don’t care about the pay.”

. . .

“I’ll have just as many chances to get published here as I did there.”

. . .

“No, I haven’t talked to Maggie.”

. . .

“ _ She _ broke up with  _ me _ !”

. . .

“No, Mom.”

. . .

“Just because I’m doing what you’ve been training me for for years . . .”

. . .

A knock on the door had Alex leaping for the excuse.“I’ve got to go.” she blurted and hung up.

Alex slid up to the door and looked carefully through the peephole. Kara was standing outside, bouncing on her toes, a pastry box in her hands, and a cowboy hat on her head.

Alex swung open the door, saying the first thing she could think of that didn’t have to do with her mom. “How did you know which hotel room I was in?”

“Uh, lucky guess?” Kara asked, sidling past Alex into the room and hanging her hat on the hook on the wall.

Alex blurted the next thing that came to her mind. “Where’s Clark?” She had been allowed to stay home by herself since she was 10, but most of her friends weren’t allowed that for several more years. She wondered what Kara’s policies were and if she’d be expected to enforce them.

Kara chuckled. “Oh, Lois asked if he wanted to go over and study with her and since he’d already finished his homework, I said he could. What are you up to?”

“Won’t they be doing homework there?” Alex tried to keep the conversation away from herself.

Kara shrugged. “More like staring longingly into each other's eyes over their textbooks. Or running interference between Lucy and her dad. Clark is pretty good at de-escalating arguments.”

Alex understood that. It was easier to keep the peace in the home if a friend was over.

“I brought muffins.” Kara continued, hoisting the box in her hand. “I know the hotel does this breakfast / brunch thing on Sundays, but honestly, the food isn’t that great, and the portions are miserable, so I made you some muffins. I’ve got oatmeal, chocolate, poppy seed, and apple.”

“You made me muffins and drove all the way up here to give them to me because you think I need a better breakfast?”

“Yeah.” Kara nodded. “You deserve the best breakfast ever.”

Alex stared. “Why are you so nice to me? I know we said we’re friends, but . . .” Alex trailed off. She couldn’t hide her confusion any longer. Her mom’s call, the list of things she needed to do at the back of her mind, Kara’s unwavering niceness, it was all too much.

Kara stepped forward, setting the box down on the desk in the room. “Aren’t your other friends nice to you?” Kara had a confused wrinkle on her forehead that Alex just wanted to smooth away.

Instead, she placed her hands on her hips and looked over Kara’s head. “No, none of my other friends were ever this nice.”

“Do you not want me to be nice?” Kara asked, twisting her hands together before hooking them on her belt. Her voice shrank and cracked ever so slightly. Alex had the sudden urge to wrap Kara up and keep her from everybody who would take advantage.

“No, no.” She reassured Kara. “I want you to be you. Amazing, wonderful you. I just. I just don’t get it.”

“Get what?” Kara looked less hurt, but more confused.

“Why you do these things for me. You don’t even know me.” Alex protested. “We met a week ago.”

Kara scrunched up her nose. “I don’t know you completely, but I’m starting to, I think. What with the all the time we’ve spent together.”

“Exactly! You’ve invited me to stuff, and helped me and fed me.” Alex flailed her hands. “You’re just so nice!”

“I like being nice.” Kara said, simply and without guile. 

Alex slumped down on the bed. “But why are you so nice  _ to me? _ ”

Kara answered softly. “Because I like you. And because you haven’t eaten since our picnic yesterday. And because you are a wonderful woman. You’re smart and funny and kind and beautiful and a really good doctor, and Bothgar likes you . . .”

Alex shoved her head in her hands, gulping down air like she was suffocating.

Kara instantly moved forward, forgetting, and using her superspeed. She pulled Alex toward her, wrapping her arms around Alex’s back. “Hey, hey, what’s wrong?”

Alex buried her face in the soft flannel of Kara’s shirt. “I’m not wonderful.” she whispered into Kara’s stomach, surely too soft for anyone to hear.

Kara merely stepped closer, moving one hand over Alex’s back in circles, while the other reached up to stroke Alex’s hair.

Alex fisted her hands in Kara’s shirt, taking deep breaths in the pattern she’d learned while a teen. She felt herself relaxing with each pass of Kara’s hand over her back and head. She felt safe, tucked into Kara like that, as if nothing could touch her.

Eventually, Alex calmed down enough to realise she was clutching to a woman she’d only know a week.

Alex shuffled backwards a bit, releasing Kara’s shirt. Kara stepped back herself and gestured to the box on the desk. “Hey, what do you say we eat these muffins? Everything’s better when you’re not hungry. Then we can figure out how to get everything done this week you need to.”

Alex rubbed her hands on her pants. “Yeah. That would be good.”

Kara kept up a soft patter of commentary on everything from Clark’s ‘lack of game’ to the hideous decorating decisions of the hotel. Alex was very grateful for the distraction.

Eventually, Kara got up to leave. They hadn’t done much planning, but Alex felt more calm and ready to take on the week. She also had mostly managed to push her mother to the back of her mind.

Kara wrapped Alex up in a hug as she left. “Bye! I’ll see you soon!”

Alex hesitantly returned the hug. “Yeah, see you soon. And thank you.”

“My pleasure.” Kara smiled, and Alex could do nothing but smile in return.


	10. To Have and To Hold

Kara was hesitant to text Alex on Monday. She wanted to talk to her, but wasn’t sure what to say. She couldn’t ask about work, because Alex didn’t start until that evening. She most definitely was _not_ going to bring up Alex’s meltdown. Maybe a question about paperwork? Nah, that was lame.

Clark caught her staring at the phone while in the middle of balancing their budget.

<<Seriously, Kara, just ask her out.>> Clark said. <<That’s what you’re always telling me to do with Lois.>>

<<I don’t know if she’d want that.>> Kara muttered. <<She’s human. They have gender preferences. They don’t love like Kryptonians do.>>

Clark snorted. <<They may have gender preferences but you definitely match hers.>>

<<Statistically unlikely.>>

Clark gave her an unimpressed look. <<You clearly didn’t see the way she was staring at you that first morning she stayed over.>> He switched into English. “Can I say . . . thirsty?”

“You’ve been on Tumblr too much.” Kara groaned. <<We have a perfectly good AI downstairs and you insist on using that pathetic human excuse for a computer to look at gifs of Amy Adams and Erica Durance.>>

<<Don’t think I haven’t seen your blog.>> Clark retorted. <<We have animals, you really don’t need to cover your computer with pictures of them too.>>

Kara huffed. “They’re babies. They’re cute. Now go do your homework.”

After considering a few more minutes, Kara took a picture of her spread of bills, budget sheets, and receipts (she swore they multiplied while she wasn’t looking) and sent it to Alex, along with the caption, _I thought working outdoors meant less paperwork_.

Alex texted back in a couple of minutes. _Paperwork makes the world go round._

 

-

 

Tuesday morning, after Clark had pestered her all through evening chores, morning chores, and breakfast, Kara strode over to her greenhouses. She carefully selected one of the plants and brought the pot back into the house, where she wrote out some care instructions. She glanced at the clock and jumped up, using her superspeed to collect breakfast, change her shoes, and get on the road in less than 30 seconds.

Kara parked at the hospital and wandered in through the ER entrance, thinking she should probably find the office entrance, just to avoid getting in anyone’s way. A few smiles at the nurses later and she was headed towards Alex’s office. She stopped at Betsy’s desk and greeted her with a smile.

“Is Dr. Danvers still here?”

Betsy looked up and smiled. “Yes, she just got off shift. You can wait in her office. I’ll let you in.”

“Thanks, Betsy.” Kara smiled.

Betsy unlocked the door and shooed Kara in. “She shouldn’t be long.”

Kara nodded and perched nervously on the edge of the desk, setting the plant and food bag down next to her, and lowering her filters to try to find Alex in the hospital.

It wasn’t two minutes before Alex came through the door and jumped at the sight of Kara, half raising her hands in a defensive posture. When she saw who it was, she relaxed.

“Damn it, Kara, you scared me.”

Kara winced. “Sorry.”

“What’s up?” Alex asked, walking around the desk to put her stuff down.

“Oh!” Kara straightened up and pointed at the things on the desk. “I brought you breakfast since you don’t eat enough. And a plant. Not to eat, but for your office. As a decoration. It’s a succulent, so it doesn’t need much water, which I thought would be good, so that when you have days off or are sick or something you don’t have to go into work to water it. Um, it’s a Schlumbergera, and should flower in a month or two. Really pretty, and kind of reminds me of you.”

“It’s a what now?”

Kara smiled. “A Schlumbergera. Also called Christmas Cactus or Thanksgiving Cactus? Probably ‘cause it flowers in the middle of winter.”

“I’m not sure whether I should be insulted or not that a cactus reminds you of me.”

Kara blushed and tried to think of something that wasn’t ‘everything makes me think of you’.

Suddenly, one of the hospital’s many alarms started blaring.

Kara jerked.

With her lowered shields, the alarm drilled into Kara’s ears. She frantically tried to put her filters back up, but couldn’t focus.

The sounds were overwhelming: she could hear every machine beeping in the rooms down the hall, every sob of pain from the waiting room, every slice of the scalpel in the operating room.

Her eyes were flooded with light from every spectrum: visible light from the overheads; infrared rolling off Alex’s body and the warm coffee machine in the corner; ultraviolet from the machines, radio waves cascading around the room, microwaves leaking from the break room.

She could practically taste the sweat and blood and bleach that permeated every corner of the hospital. Her skin prickled at the draft from the old and no longer airtight window. It felt like a gale.

Kara let out a whimper and closed her eyes, pressing her hands firmly against her ears. It barely helped. She felt herself sink to the floor, curling up in a ball, desperately searching for something soothing to focus on.

Even with her eyes screwed shut the light was too bright. She whimpered again and the light dimmed a little. That helped enough for Kara to fumble for her keychain and the small pouch that carried her fold up lead glasses. It cracked and she dropped it, cursing her strength.

Kara rocked backwards, skittering her hands across the floor, trying to find her glasses. Gentle hands caught her and pulled her onto something soft and warm. Half a moment later, her glasses were carefully placed on her face, dulling her senses a little more, helping her focus. Kara sought out the nearest steady sound, a consistent and calming “thump-thump”, and focused everything on that.

Slowly she rebuilt her shields, starting with touch, then moving to taste, then smell, then sight, and finally sound, reluctantly letting the soothing “thump-thump” fade away.

When Kara got her senses under control and could interact with the world again, she discovered she was curled up in Alex’s lap on the floor. The lights were off, the blinds were drawn, and Alex had wrapped a soft blanket around them both.

Kara gulped and tensed up even more. Her position meant the nice noise she had been focusing on was probably Alex’s heart. There was no way she could forget that sound now. Alex had (inadvertently, but not regretfully) become one of the very few people she could track via heartbeat. And, as much as she wanted to curl up with Alex, an attack like that was not how she had imagined it.

Alex gently rubbed Kara’s back. “Hey, you with me again?”

“Y-yeah.” Kara swallowed nervously.

“Sensory overload?” Alex asked kindly.

Kara nodded, her face red with embarrassment.

“You know, that’s one of things on my list to change around here.” Alex continued softly, her voice even and calm. “We have way too many alarms in the ER that are too loud. It doesn’t help anything, really. It causes stress to patients and caregivers and staff, and those of us who work here just get used to it and ignore them, which kind of defeats the purpose of an alarm, you know?” Alex chuckled, and Kara smiled weakly in response.

Alex kept going. “Studies show that reducing alarm fatigue increases the performance of doctors and nurses, not to mention the mental health benefits to patients. This should be a happy, supportive atmosphere where people can heal.”

Kara shifted a little, resting her head on Alex’s chest so she could hear her heartbeat without dropping her filters again.

Alex kept up a running patter about her plans to turn the ER into an efficient, welcoming place. She continued to rub Kara’s back as she talked and occasionally squeezed Kara’s knee, where her other hand rested.

Bit by bit Kara relaxed until she finally felt settled enough to sit up straight.

Alex made no move to stop her as she pulled away, but rested her hand comfortingly on Kara’s shoulder blade.

“Thank you for the food and the plant.” Alex said, when Kara managed to meet her eye.

“Yeah, sure.” Kara replied, carefully extracting herself from the blanket and standing up.

“You don’t need to be embarrassed.” Alex mentioned as she gracefully stood up too.

Kara shrugged. “I had a sensory shutdown and panic attack in your office because of an alarm. It was silly.”

Alex shook her head. “It’s not silly.”

“It’s just . . .” Kara paused to trace the design on her belt buckle and gage Alex’s level of judgement. When she saw only open acceptance, she continued. “How am I supposed to help people if I can’t even function myself?”

Alex pursed her lips. “You know, that’s what I was thinking yesterday.”

“But you’re strong and competent and a doctor!” Kara protested.

“And you own your own farm, are raising a teenage boy, and still managed to bring me breakfast just because you thought I wasn’t taking care of myself. You are functioning really well! And when you’re not, well, I’ll be here to help.”

Alex paused to think about what she said. “Like I’m sure your other friends are?” she hastily added on.

“You’re a lot better at calming me down than my other friends.” Kara admitted.

“Well, I’m happy to do it.”

Alex cleared her throat then, as if they’d hit a topic that was a little too personal, and turned to the desk. “Now, what kind of magical concoction did you cook up this morning?”

Kara laughed at what she supposed was Alex exaggerating. “Just a couple breakfast sandwiches. Egg, meat, cheese, ketchup. Nothing special.”

Alex dug into the bag and bit ravenously into the sandwich, letting out a moan. “You’re the best.”

She glanced at Kara. “Want to stick around for a bit? Or do you have stuff to do?”

Kara smiled. “I’ll stay.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so I know different people deal with sensory overload differently and it’s not always a good idea to touch someone going through an attack, but after my research I thought this would be how Kara would experience it as a Kryptonian with naturally higher sensitivity, but also more capabilities of consciously monitoring that sensitivity.  
> Also, alarm fatigue is totally a thing. Check out [this article](http://www.aami-bit.org/doi/full/10.2345/0899-8205-46.4.268?code=aami-site) for a really good description of the problems associated with it.  
> Lastly, thanks to GeneralSan_3 for the chapter title!


	11. I Like To Move It, Move It

Alex walked out of the hospital Thursday morning half expecting to see Gertrude waiting for her. Kara wasn’t there, nor was she waiting at the hotel. Alex made it up to her room and pulled out her phone, thinking. She hadn’t seen Kara in two days and she really shouldn’t miss her this much. She especially shouldn’t miss her this much since it wasn’t like they hadn’t talked. They’d spent the last couple of days texting quite regularly and even chatting on the phone once.

Deciding she’d second guessed herself enough for one lifetime, Alex hit speed dial 1.

 _"Hey, Alex!"_ Kara was as chipper as always.

“Hey, Kara, you busy today?”

_"Not particularly, what’s up?"_

“Well, you know how you said it’s more fun to move with someone else? I’m moving into my house this afternoon and was wondering if you’d join me? We could do some furniture shopping and get pizza.”

_"I’d love to! What time?"_

“Uh, I need to sleep a bit, since I’ve been up all night, so how about 2? That should give us enough time to move everything and do some shopping and eat before my shift tonight.”

_"I’ll meet you at your hotel about 2, then."_

“Okay. See you in a bit.”

_"Sleep well!"_

 

-

 

Kara knocked on Alex’s hotel door at 2:15 in the afternoon. There was no answer. She cocked her head. Alex was definitely in there. Her heartbeat was very relaxed. Kara debated letting Alex sleep but decided Alex would be unhappy if they couldn’t get everything done they needed to that day. She knocked again, louder, but very careful not to put her fist through the door. That was an explanation she didn’t need to give. She judiciously looked through the door to see if that had woken Alex.

Kara clapped her hand over her mouth to stop from laughing. At Kara’s knock, Alex had jerked upright and muttered “Fight me, jerk!” before realizing where and when she was. Alex ran her hand over her face and said. “Come in, Kara.”

“Uh, the door’s locked?” Kara said as she turned off her x-ray vision and toned down her hearing.

There was a loud thump from inside the room (even audible by human standards), some curses, and then the door was flung open.

Alex’s hair was sticking up on one side and she was missing a sock.

“Hi,” Kara said. “Did I wake you?”

Alex gave her an unimpressed look. “It’s not obvious?”

Kara shrugged and hefted a basket into view. “Yeah, it kind of is. Uh, I brought lunch.”

Alex looked puzzledly at the basket. “Okay. Well, why don’t you eat while I run through the shower.”

“I brought some for you too,” Kara said, setting the basket down on the desk and starting to unpack it.

“Eh, I’m not hungry,” Alex replied, as she grabbed some clothes out of her suitcase. “I won’t be long. Make yourself at home.”

 

Kara dug into the pile of sandwiches she’d brought and glanced around the room. She hadn’t paid much attention to the room on Sunday, being more preoccupied with Alex at the time.

It was your typical hotel room: desk, bed, door leading to the bathroom where Alex was showering and naked and Kara was _not_ thinking about that, overused art on the walls, taupe carpet, a radiator under the window. Alex had a suitcase perched precariously on the rack they provided, and her other one packed and leaning against the wall. There were a couple bottles on the end table, and a stack of paperwork spilling out of the briefcase on the unmade bed.

Kara had just managed to finish off her portion of the sandwiches when Alex exited the bathroom, toweling her hair as she walked. Alex bent over and shook out her hair, scattering droplets across the room before giving it one last pat with the towel. Kara swore her heart skipped a beat at the sight.

Alex tossed the towel on the bed, narrowly missing the paperwork and dug through her suitcase for a comb. A few drops of water slid down her neck and under her shirt collar.

“Sooooo, what’s the plan?” Kara asked, spinning in the desk chair in an attempt to control herself.

“Uh.” Alex wandered back into the bathroom. “Check out of the hotel, dump all my stuff at my house, go buy some furniture, eat pizza, unpack? Maybe pick out some paint and stuff if we have time.”

Alex came back out of the bathroom with her toiletries and dumped them in the suitcase. She zipped that up and began sliding the paperwork into her briefcase. Kara stood up, cleaned up her basket and the food (making sure Alex’s sandwiches were accessible just in case Alex did get hungry), and did a double check of the room to make sure Alex hadn’t missed anything in packing.

“I have a list of furniture and supplies you might need for your new house,” Kara offered, once they’d headed out the door. "Also a list of things that might need cleaning and a list of decorations.

“Really?” Alex didn’t sound offended, just surprised.

“I like lists,” Kara explained. “I like writing lists and I like checking things off lists. And I want your first night in your new home to be wonderful!”

Alex smiled. “It’s my first house and it’s thousands of miles away from my old life. It could be a stick shack and I would be happy.”

 

It didn’t take the two of them long to unload Alex’s car and pile all the boxes in the middle of the living room. Alex looked at the pile and laughed. “It filled up my car, but looks pretty small now, huh?”

“Not a bad thing,” Kara replied.

Alex looked at the fireplace. “That’s going to be great, especially in the winter.”

“Oh, that reminds me!” Kara dashed out the door, doing her best to stay at human speeds.

She darted back in moments later with one arm full of metal and the other with a stuffed bag. She carefully set her cargo on the floor and began slotting the metal pieces together. Alex watched in fascination as Kara’s deft hands worked.

Kara slid the finished product next to the fireplace and sat back on her heels. “There!”

“It’s a firewood rack,” Kara explained, at Alex’s blank look. “It’s got a place for newspaper, kindling, and logs, and all the tools you’ll need.”

“You got me a firewood rack?” Alex asked, shaking her head slightly in disbelief.

Kara blushed and tapped her belt buckle. “Oh, uh, well, I remembered this house had a fireplace, I think you mentioned it when you were gushing? Anyway, I had a spare rack in one of my barns, so I brought it over. I brought some wood over too, to get you started. Consider it a housewarming present? Um, pun not intended.”

Kara had not, in fact, had a spare wood rack in her barn. What she had had was spare steel, heat vision, a makeshift forge, and a few hours. She would concede to having the wood already.

Kara opened up the bag and filled the rack with neatly split kindling, newspaper, and logs. She set a box of matches on the mantle and turned back towards Alex who was staring at the rack with an odd look on her face.

“Alex?” Kara asked. “You okay?”

Alex waved her hand. “I have no idea what I’m doing here.”

Kara cocked her head. “Here in your house that you bought?”

“More existentially than that,” Alex muttered. “It’s all so surreal.”

“Is that a good thing or a bad thing?” Kara asked.

“I don’t know,” Alex replied.

“Ah.” Kara thought for a minute. She had much the same feelings when she’d come to earth. Once she’d gotten a job and had food and a place to stay, it all sort of sunk in and she’d walked around in a daze for a few days. “I know the feeling.”

Alex shook her head as if trying to clear it. “You said you had lists?”

“Yup!” Kara fumbled in her pocket, pulling out a folded sheet of paper. “I was right about you needing all the furniture,” Kara gestured to the empty house. “But it’s not dirty like I expected.”

Alex shrugged. “I came by and cleaned yesterday after signing the paperwork. Wanted it ready to move stuff in.”

“Okay, well let’s get the wood out of my truck so we can take it to go shopping. Oh!” Kara paused. “I just assumed . . . I thought we’d take my truck to go shopping because we can fit the furniture in the back better?”

“Yeah, that’s a good idea. I like Gertrude.”

 

Half an hour later, Kara was bouncing through the doors of the main furniture store in town. “C’mon! This is actually the best place for mattresses in like, 200 miles.”

“You’ve checked?” Alex asked, amused, as Kara grabbed her hand and dragged her past the tables and desks to the back room full of beds and mattresses.

“Of course! After I finished renovating the house I wanted to find a bed that matched the ones back on . . . where I lived before moving here.”

“Did you find it?”

“I got something that was close enough, with a little modification. Anyway, what size do you want? Do you like soft or firm? A high bed, or something close to the floor?”

Alex surveyed the massive room filled with beds of every kind. “Uh, firm, definitely. I don’t really care about how big it is, it’s just me, after all. And something a little higher? Maybe with drawers or something under it?”

“Okay.” Kara fixed the displays with a determined glare. She tugged lightly on Alex’s hand, their fingers still unconsciously entwined. “Let’s start over there.”

They made it halfway across the room before Kara flopped onto a mattress and yanked Alex down after her.

“What do you think?” Kara asked.

Alex squirmed a little on the bed, getting comfortable. “Uh, nice.”

Kara frowned. “Nice is not good enough. I want you moaning in comfort.”

“Oh, really?.” Alex chuckled. “You want me moaning on my bed?”

Kara blushed furiously. “Alex!”

They found ‘the perfect mattress’ six mattresses later. Alex didn’t moan, per se, when she lay down on it, but she did release a soft “ohhhh” of comfort.

Kara directed the attentive salespeople to “put this in the back of Gertrude, will you?” and steered Alex towards the bed frames. That was a much quicker purchase since Alex didn’t want anything fancy. Beds were for sleeping in and nothing else. Well, maybe one other thing, but not reading or eating or watching TV. It confused your body if you used the same space for recreation and sleep.

“What next?” Kara asked as the salespeople hauled the bed frame away.

Alex consulted her list and checked her watch. “I think just a chest of drawers and then someplace I can get a fridge. That’s basically all the essentials and I can get the rest later. That should still give us time to eat and unpack a bit.”

“Sounds like a plan.” Kara wrapped her hands around Alex’s arm as they headed towards the dressers and other bedroom furniture.

Alex picked out a dresser that matched her bed frame (basically her only requirement, besides “lots of space for socks”) and then Kara drove them to Sears to look at fridges.

Alex took one look at the rows of stainless steel and shook her head. “No. I don’t care. That time I spent helping you with dinner was more time than I’ve spent in the kitchen than in the past two years, combined. You do it. Just pick something that’ll fit through the doors.” Alex waved her hand and went to pick out some bedding.

Alex came back with her arms filled with blankets, sheets, towels, and pillows to find Kara in a disagreement (they were both far too polite to call it an argument) with a salesperson.

“You sure you don’t want that delivered?” The poor young fellow asked.

“Oh, no, we’ve got it!” Kara said, easily pushing the trolley with the fridge towards the front door. “We need it today, anyway.”

Alex snorted and smiled apologetically at the employee.

Kara nearly forgot herself and lifted the fridge into Gertrude all by herself, but remembered just in time to let Alex help.

“We could stop by the grocery,” Kara suggested, once they were back in the cab. “Get you something for breakfast at least.”

“Eh, I’ll just eat cold pizza,” Alex replied. “I kinda want to start unpacking. It’ll be nice not to live out of a suitcase.”

 

It didn’t take them long to carry all the furniture into the house. When Kara walked past Alex with the fridge, Alex raised her eyebrows. “You must work out a lot.”

Kara froze briefly before setting the fridge carefully down on the floor. “Uh, yeah, I do.”

“Do you use a gym?” Alex asked. “Or is it just all the work around the farm?”

Kara wiped her hands on her jeans before hooking her thumbs in her belt. “Uh, mostly the farm stuff, but I do some weightlifting and martial arts on the side.”

“Yeah?” Alex fought to keep the eager expression from her face. “Do you have any gym recommendations? I really miss working out properly.”

Kara ducked her head. “No, I just do it at home. I’ve got a workout room under one of the barns.” She jerked her head up with a thought. “You could come use it! I’d love to have a sparring partner!”

“What kind of martial arts do you do?” Alex asked, picking up her suitcases and moving towards the bedroom.

"Oh, um." Kara hesitated every so briefly. "Torquasm - Rao."

"I've never heard of that one. I'm not sure how good of a sparring partner I'd be. I do mostly Krav Maga and Jiu Jitsu. And boxing."

"We could teach each other!" Kara beamed. "And you can use the weights there, whenever you want."

"You sure?" Alex reached for a wrench. "Hold the bed frame for me, will you?"

Kara obligingly steadied the frame while Alex bolted it together. "Of course I'm sure! There are a couple gyms in town, but one is Karate and the other is just your regular workout stuff. You know, treadmills, some weight racks, a pool, if you like swimming." Kara shuddered at the last.

Alex chuckled a little. "You don't like swimming?"

Kara shook her head. "I don't really know how to swim."

Alex paused with her hand outstretched for the last slat on the bed frame. "You didn't say anything when I gave you those tickets to the water park."

Kara huffed. "You were being nice; I wasn't going to refuse them! Besides, Clark really likes swimming, and I do want to learn how to surf!"

Alex sat back. "Okay."

"I'm just not used to water, I guess," Kara explained. "There wasn't much around where I grew up."

Alex filed that piece of information away in her mental 'Kara' folder and gestured to the bed. Kara nodded and helped her set the mattress in place. Alex glanced again at her watch. "I'm going to put in the pizza order. What kind of toppings do you want?"

"Sausage, please!" Kara said. "Where do you want your dresser?"

Alex waved her hand. "Wherever. I want to paint, so I'll have to move it anyway."

Kara nodded and moved the dresser to the wall across from the bed.

Alex poked her head back in through the door. "They don't have any delivery people, so I'm going to go pick the pizza up. Shouldn't be long."

Kara hummed in agreement, staring at the walls. They did need a good coat of paint, probably in blue. Alex seemed like a winter tone sort of person. Oh, and Kara could maybe even get a color to match the sea! She'd have to visit California so she could pick the right color (Rao, but the seas were so many colors, and such shades they never had on Krypton) and maybe she could figure out where exactly Alex had grown up so she could get it just right. And then they could do the living room in white, but have lots of wood accents. That would feel cozy, especially with the fire, but not claustrophobic. And bookcases! Kara could make bookcases to fit the walls in the living room, tall ones that would fit all of Alex’s books and more.

Kara was pulled out of her thoughts by the front door slamming open and shut.

"I'm back!" Alex called. "Come and get it!"

Kara hurried into the living room and plopped down on the floor, screwing open the bottles of soda. Alex sprawled next to her and shoved the stack of pizza boxes towards Kara, keeping a couple slices out for herself.

After they'd demolished a few slices, Alex started the conversation back up. "So, what was it like, growing up here?"

"Not that interesting. What was it like growing up in California?" Kara countered.

Alex laughed. "Not that interesting."

Kara raised her pizza. "All right then, let's make a deal. A story for a story?"

Alex reached over and tapped Kara's pizza with her own. "Deal."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the fireplace rack Kara made, I imagine something similar to [this](https://cdni.llbean.net/is/image/wim/156797_710_41?wid=428&hei=494).  
> Also, credit to Sarah for the idea of Kara’s basement workout room. You’ll see more of that later. :D


	12. Are Your Ears Burning?

Kara swung open the back door and called out. <<Kal, go chop some wood, human speed, and try not to break the ax this time.>>

Kal’s groan could be heard through three counties. <<But it’s Friday night and my friends are coming over!>>

<<And you can stop when they get here. It’s either chopping wood or doing all of your regular chores at human speed. You’ve been slipping lately.>>

Kal opened his mouth a moment, closed it, and wisely chose to chop wood instead of tackling the long list of evening chores that were usually set for Friday nights.

Kara made sure he got started, then sped off to do the other chores before people got there. Just because Kal needed practice being human didn’t mean _she_ couldn’t use superspeed to finish everything.

 

She’d just finished up milking the cows when she heard Winn let himself into the house. She cleaned up the milking equipment and headed in. Winn was in the kitchen, putting a tray of pigs-in-blankets in the oven.

“Hey, can I borrow one of your computers? Take it back to the store for a bit?” he greeted her.

“Why, so you can do some more highly illegal hacking? You could just do it here, you know. It’s not like I’m going to report you, and you’d have better access.”

Winn shook his head. “Plausible deniability all the way. You know nothing about hacking, I know nothing about forged documents or cheating at gambling. Besides, it’s only illegal if I get caught.”

Kara shrugged and helped Winn set out the rest of the snacks. “If you’re sure.”

“Yep, now tell me about Alex. How many dates have you been on?”

“We haven’t been on any dates.”

“You haven’t asked her out? She hasn’t asked you out? Why not?” Winn’s voice grew louder and higher with each question.

“Well, there’s the whole issue of sexuality,” Kara explained.

Winn sighed. “You’re pan, she’s gay, I’m not seeing the problem here.”

“How do you know she’s gay? Did she tell you?”

“She didn’t need to tell me because I have eyes!”

“What?”

Winn rolled his eyes. “Allow me to present the evidence. The way she dresses. Stereotypical, I know, but an 83% correlation to sexuality. Also, she didn’t even look at Mike this morning . . .”

“Wait, what?” Kara interrupted. “When did you see her? When did _Mike_ see her?”

Winn waved his hand dismissively. “She came by the store this morning to arrange for internet for her house, and Mike was there, being annoying as usual. He tried to hit on her and it was like he didn’t even exist. Definitely not straight.”

Kara hemmed and hawed. “What other evidence do you have?”

“She’s from California?” Winn suggested.

Kara glared. “Seriously? That’s a worse stereotype than the clothing!”

“Okay, okay.” Winn raised his hands in concession. “But you didn’t see how she was looking at you last week. She only has eyes for you! And the hots.”

Kara bit her lip. “I’m not sure. I don’t want to ruin our friendship.”

Winn threw up his hands “Un-be-lievable! I give up. I cannot help you.”

“Help her with what?” Lucy interjected, walking through the front door.

“Alex.” Winn said, sadly shaking his head.

“That gorgeous doctor who was here last week?” Lucy asked.

Vasquez, who had followed Lucy in, smacked the back of Lucy’s head and Lucy quickly added. “But not as gorgeous as you, baby.”

Lois and Jimmy followed Vasquez in. Kara grinned at the two kids. “Clark’s out by the wood shed. You can go tell him he’s done.”

The two kids thanked Kara and dashed off through the house.

Winn picked up their conversation “Yeah, the gorgeous doctor who was here last week. You know, the one that distracted Kara so badly she lost at Risk.”

Lucy jumped on Winn’s comment. “Oh, is that your excuse, Kara? You’re losing your touch. I bet you’d lose again. I had the love of my life here and _I_ wasn’t distracted!” She sent a sappy glance at Vasquez.

Kara sputtered. “You, you, you, jerkface! That’s it. Rematch!”

Lucy and Kara ran to the game closet and began setting up Risk, giving each other fierce glares and muttering threats.

Vasquez leaned over to Winn. “Have they always been this competitive?”

Winn hastily chewed the entire pig-in-blanket he’d shoved in his mouth. “Oh yeah. Ever since high school. Never gets nasty, though. I mean,” Winn paused thoughtfully. “It sounds nasty, but they know they don’t mean it. All confined to gameplay.”

“Mmm.” Vasquez eyed how the women were setting up the game. “They’re not going to let us play with them this time round, are they?”

“Nope.”

 

-

 

Dr. Griffin flopped down next to Alex in the break room about 3 am. “Hey, how you holding up?”

Alex smiled weakly. “First time I’ve sat down tonight.”

“Yeah, I think we’ve hit a pause, though. I’m glad you’re here. Friday nights are the heaviest of the week. Everybody getting drunk and doing stupid stuff.”

Alex snorted. “Like the guy who wanted to get on ‘America’s Funniest Home Videos’?”

Dr. Griffin laughed. “Oh boy. What’d he do?”

"Tried to jump his four-wheeler onto the roof of his house. He was so drunk he missed the ramp, fortunately. Only broke his arm and cracked a couple ribs. Apparently, it was a pretty spectacular accident.”

“Did they get it on film?”

“Yeah. His buddies were talking about sending it in.”

Dr. Griffin chuckled and drained her cup of coffee. “Honestly, I’m glad you’re taking over the ER. The work is interesting, but the hours . . .” she shook her head.

Alex nodded in agreement. “I’m excited to be here, but I’ve a lot to live up to, Dr. Griffin.”

“Please, call me Abby. And I know you’ll be great; I’ve been paying attention these past couple of weeks.”

Alex ducked her head. “Thanks.”

They took simultaneous sips of their coffees.

“Have you heard any more about the guy that was brought in last week?” Alex asked.

“Which one?” Abby raised her eyebrow.

“Sorry.” Alex smiled ruefully. “It was my first day here and he just sort of appeared in the ER? Had been in a car crash like fifty miles away, didn’t know how he got here?”

“Oh, him!” Abby nodded. “Yeah, he’s doing fine. Turns out it really was an accident. Swerved to avoid a deer, ran off the road.”

“Okay, but how’d he get here?”

Abby shrugged. “No one knows.”

“And they’re not investigating it?”

Abby shook her head. “Probably not. We don’t have much manpower in our sheriff's department, and since no one was hurt, it’s low on the priority list. Besides, weird stuff like that happens all the time around here.”

Alex looked a bit disbelieving.

Abby laughed as she got up and stepped towards the vending machines. “This is a very different place than National City, I assure you.”

“Yeah, that’s been impressed upon me. The people here are much friendlier, for one. And then there are all the alien enthusiasts?” Alex waved her hand broadly. “I’ve seen a _lot_ of alien stuff around town. Like you would think we were next to Area 51 or something.”

Abby smacked the side of the vending machine. “We had a pretty intense meteor shower here, oh, 12 years ago? And we’ve had more than our fair share of crop circles. It just sort of took off from there. But if you really want to know about aliens, you should talk to Raven. She claims to be the biggest alien nut in town, but that’s debatable.” Abby fixed Alex with a firm stare. “ _Don’t_ tell her I said that.”

Alex was curious. “Who else is in the running?”

“Winn Schott. He runs the computer store, Star Tech.”

“Oh, right. I’ve met Winn.” Alex replied. “I haven’t met Raven, though. Who’s she?”

Abby sat down again and passed Alex a granola bar. “Raven Reyes. She teaches shop at the high school and consults for NASA.”

Alex raised her eyebrows and whistled softly.

Abby smiled, her face softening. “Yeah, she’s pretty awesome.”

Alex took a pensive gulp of her coffee. “I think I’m going to really like it here.”

A twinkle entered Abby’s eye. “I bet Kara has a lot to do with that, am I right?”

Alex choked on her drink.

When she recovered she started rambling. “Yes, Kara’s very nice. But the job is wonderful and it’s beautiful here and I’ve met lots of other great people and you can see so many stars at night and . . .” Alex paused as she was hit with a thought. “You know Kara pretty well, right? What can you tell me about her?”

Dr. Griffin grinned. "Got you under her spell already, has she? No need to be ashamed; everybody loves Kara.”

“No, no.” Alex sputtered. “I just want to thank her for all her help. Give her something she’ll actually appreciate, or I dunno, help her with something in return?”

“Uh huh.” Abby kept grinning but didn’t press it. “Kara really likes food. I’m surprised she didn’t become a chef, honestly, but I guess since she had Clark to take care of, and the farm to handle, she didn’t feel she could take the time or money to go to culinary school.”

“Her cooking is exquisite,” Alex said.

Abby held back a chuckle at the dreamy look on Alex’s face and considered prodding Alex a little. Eh, why not, she thought. It’ll be fun to tell Raven about it.

“Sure, her cooking’s good, and she runs the farm well enough, but she kind of weirds me out a little, you know? No one’s that nice or good or calm. Still waters run deep and all that.”

Abby carefully watched Alex’s reaction. Too far or not far enough?

Alex bristled.

Abby smugly settled back into her chair. Nailed it.

Alex firmly set her cup down on the table and glared at Abby. “Kara Stone is the kindest and most honest person I’ve ever met and represents the best of humanity. She is good through and through and if _I_ can see that after only knowing her _12 days_ , and _you_ can’t after knowing her for _years_ , I seriously question your ability to relate to people.”

Alex stared at Abby for several long moments before slumping back in her chair. “And you were just trying to see what I think of her, weren’t you.”

Abby lifted a shoulder. “Guilty as charged. Raven does say I’m too manipulative, but I’ve never found it to cause any serious problems.”

Alex drained her coffee. “Instinctual reactions are more honest.”

“In some ways, yes. But they also don’t allow for us to raise above our baser selves and become what we could be.”

Alex quirked an eyebrow. “You aren’t really trying to start a philosophical conversation at 3:30 in the morning, are you?”

“Do you have something better to do?” Abby questioned.

Immediately after she spoke, both their pagers started beeping. They looked at each other.

Alex pointed a finger at Abby. “You jinxed it.”

Abby sighed. “Back to the grind.”

They tossed their coffee cups into the trash and headed back to the hospital.


	13. Ships in the Night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, so this chapter is a little shorter and a little angstier. Sorry? I think it also clears up some questions y'all had.

Kara spread her hands wide. “Hypothetically speaking, even if there were aliens, why would they come down and make strange designs in our fields?”

“In an attempt to communicate, obviously!” Winn said.

Kara rolled her eyes. “If they’re advanced enough to have spaceships, they’re advanced enough to be able to figure out different linguistic patterns. And realize that after the first 100 times of doing this, that it wasn’t working and to try something else!”

“Mechanical advancements don’t usually mean linguistic advancements!” Winn protested. “We had railroads before we could translate ancient Egyptian!”

“And you currently have computer programs that can translate nearly anything, yet haven’t even made it to the next planet in your system!”

Winn leaned forward. “Okay, but listen. We know some of the crop circles have been verified hoaxes, humans doing them as a prank or what not. What if the aliens did the first few crop circles, and then when we did some, thought we were responding! We could be actually having a conversation right now!”

Kara leaned forward to match him, a twinkle in her eye. “So you really think an alien made those crop circles last night?”

Winn’s jaw dropped and then he blustered. “You? You did, didn’t you! You were the . . . oh, hi, Alex.”

Alex stood just behind Kara, holding a take-out bag. “Hey guys, mind if I join you?”

“Not at all!” Kara stood up. “Let me grab you a chair.”

“No, no.” Winn stood up as well. “I was just leaving, you can take mine.”

“Uh, thanks.” Alex shifted the chair slightly and sat down, heaving a sigh of relief as she did so.

“Long morning?” Kara asked.

Winn shook his head at being practically invisible to the two of them and headed back to work.

“Yeah,” Alex replied, pulling out her lunch and squinting at the sky. It was a nice enough day to be sitting outside, but she was suspicious of the clouds. “Glad to be back on the day shift, though.”

“Will you keep rotating through the shifts like this?”

Alex shook her head. “Not exactly. I’ll still have to take night shifts every once in awhile, but after Dr. Griffin leaves and I’m put in as the official head of the ER, I’ll be doing mostly day work. It’s a lot of admin and research, which is best done during 'normal' work hours.”

“That will be nice,” Kara said. “A regular sleeping schedule is better for the body.”

“Doctors are always the worst at taking care of themselves, but you're right. Hopefully, I'll be able to start a regular workout routine too.”

“Oh, yeah! That reminds me. Next time you come over I’ll show you the gym and give you a key.”

Alex blinked. “Okay.”

They both ate in silence for a few minutes, watching the street and enjoying the cool breeze.

Suddenly Alex blurted, “I got asked out today.”

“Oh?” Kara said, her stomach clenching in anticipation. “By whom?”

“Um, Jo Lupo. The deputy?”

“Oh, yeah, I know her.” Kara’s heart sank and soared at the same time. She might find out if Alex liked girls, but she might also have missed her chance.

“‘Course you do. Right, yeah. She came in with an ambulance this morning. Asked me out after she was sure the patient would be okay. Then asked me to fill out an incident report.” Alex took a big bite of her sandwich and stared at her soda cup.

“And?” Kara asked.

“Huh?” Alex looked up.

“Did you say yes? Do we need to find you a cute outfit?”

“Oh!” Alex shook her head. “No, no, I declined.” She twisted her fingers together before forcefully separately them and laying her hands flat on the table.

“Oh.” Kara thought for a minute before attempting to casually ask, “Not your type?”

“No. I mean yes. Ugh. She’s kind of my type, but not really, and I don’t want to be in a relationship right now. I don’t even want to casually date!”

“Ah.” Kara desperately wanted to know more, but didn't want to risk being rejected.

Alex glanced over again and when she started talking, her voice was quiet. “My ex was a cop. She broke up with me right before I moved. It was really rough. I mean, turns out she’d been lying to me about some kind of important stuff, but I’d put her in a hard position, and wasn’t there for her, so it’s no surprise she wanted to break up. She also pointed out some other stuff about me, and, and, I don’t think I’m good enough to be dating, you know? Maybe later, when I’ve fixed myself and can be a decent girlfriend.”

Kara screwed her eyes shut, focusing on Alex’s heartbeat, trying to control the heat threatening to spill from her eyeballs. She hadn’t been this mad in a long time, especially at someone who was thousands of miles away.

Alex kept talking, the hurt in her voice leaking through. “It’s fine, you know, I’ve got this great job and I just moved to this amazing town and I want to kind of ease back into it. Take some time to make some changes, get better. And I’ve got my career to focus on, all the stuff I want to do at the hospital, the research. I just don’t want to date, you know?”

Kara pushed down the anger in favor of focusing on Alex. “Hey, you don’t have to date if you don’t want to.”

“I’m not saying I never want to date!” Alex hastily replied. “Just, not now. And not Jo.”

“Okay.” Kara gave Alex a supportive smile. “Take all the time you need.”

They ate lunch in companionable silence until Alex had to get back to the hospital. As she left, Alex rested her hand on Kara’s shoulder. Kara reached up and held it with her own. They stayed like that for a long moment, neither really looking at each other, until Alex sighed and squeezed Kara’s shoulder. Kara gave a light squeeze in return and turned to watch Alex out of sight.

  
When Alex had made it back to the hospital (Kara felt no shame for using her x-ray vision to track her the whole way), Kara got up and headed to Winn’s shop. Luckily, no one else was around. Kara didn’t think she could handle people at the moment.

Winn greeted her eagerly when she walked into the back room. “Hey, hey, how was the hot lunch date?”

Kara glared. “Stop it!”

Winn jerked back. “Okay, what’s up? You’re snappy.” He gasped. “Alex didn’t reject you, did she? You said you were going to ask her out next time you saw her.”

“No! I mean, yes, but no?”

Winn frowned and spun in his chair. “Explain.”

“Jo asked her out today.”

“Okaaaaaaaaay.”

“And she said no.”

“Well, that’s good, right? Unless she said no because she’s not into girls.”

“No, she’s into girls. She said no because she doesn’t want to date right now.”

“That might be what she says, but the way she looks at you says otherwise.”

“Stop it, Winn. She may think me attractive, but that doesn’t mean she wants to date me. Besides, she had some issues with her ex, lying and stuff, and I don’t want to do that to her.”

Winn tapped his lips with his pen. “Well, I don’t think you’ve ever technically lied to her.”

Kara rolled her eyes. “Truth by omission then. Still, it’s bad enough we’re friends and she doesn’t know. It would be even worse if we were dating. Besides, she really needs some time. It was a bad breakup.”

“So what are you going to do?”

"Wait.” Kara said it simply, as if it were obvious.

“Wait. You’re going to wait for who knows how long, just for this girl to figure out you’re the greatest thing she could ever wish for and probably break your heart in the process?”

Kara nodded. “She’s worth it.”


	14. Helping Her Help Me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here! Have some more Raven!

Thursday night Alex spent staying up too late, drinking too much, and beating herself up about her inadequacies.

Friday morning, Alex woke up late and had to scramble to get to work on time. Showering was out, as was breakfast. She barely had time to get dressed before running out the door. She paused in the driveway to check her phone for any messages, though. Kara usually sent texts pretty frequently, but after their conversation at lunch the day before, they hadn't spoken at all.

Alex exhaled a relieved sigh when she saw there was a cheerful _Good morning! <3_ from Kara. Smiling, Alex typed out a quick _Morning. Have a good day today._ and hurried to work.

Of course, once Alex got there and clocked in, she found she needed to postpone her plans for the day. Apparently, the entire town decided they needed to be in the emergency room with their own breed of drastic injury and the regular staff was way behind. Alex put aside the paperwork and research she had planned to do and changed into scrubs to help.

Alex walked into her first examination, looking at the chart. “Raven Reyes, with a welding burn?”

The occupant of the cubicle replied quickly. “Yeah, that's me. It’s no biggy, honest, but the boys seemed to think I needed to go to the ER. I honestly could have patched it up myself, I’ve got a great first aid kit, let me tell you, but they were pretty insistent. Also, if you could like, not tell Abby I was here, that would be amazing.”

Alex stared at the dark-haired woman who was perched on the examination bed, cheerfully swinging her legs, despite one of them being in a brace. Her left arm was held stiffly in front of her, a blister forming across the inner forearm. She had a grease smear on her cheekbone and several more scattered across her tank top

“Oh, you’re Abby’s Raven,” was all Alex could think to say. "The NASA engineer."

Raven grinned. “That’s me.”

Alex glanced back down at the chart, then at Raven's arm. “I’m not sure how me not mentioning your trip to the hospital will help; won’t she see the bandage?”

“Well, yeah, but if she thinks it was something I just patched up at work, she won’t be as worried.”

Alex shrugged. “Okay, I won’t mention it, but I won’t lie if she asks.”

Raven beamed. “You’re wonderful.”

Alex set the chart down on the counter and began digging out the supplies needed to wrap up the burn. “Is there anywhere else you’re hurt?”

“No,” Raven answered, just a little too quickly.

Alex straightened up and gave Raven a _look_.

Raven sighed. “A trolley ran into me while I was welding. My brace seized up and I fell over. The welder did not turn off like it was supposed to and that’s how I got burned. I’ve got some bruises from falling and everything, and kind of a nasty cut on my right calf that I think’s from the trolley.”

Alex gave Raven a small smile as she started washing up. “Would you like me to take a look at it?”

Raven shrugged. “Not really.”

“Okay.” Alex carefully took Raven’s arm and gently applied burn cream.

Raven easily shifted the subject. “Are you coming to the Fall Festival tomorrow?”

“Ummm.” Alex had heard a few things about it, I mean, one could hardly miss the posters around town.

“Clarke’s class did a scarecrow for the contest, and she’s super proud of it. Abby and I are going to make a day of it, I think. There will be a maize maze and a jack ‘o’ lantern contest and fair games and homebrew beer and whiskey and basically a bunch of fun.”

“Uh huh.” Alex finished fastening the bandage around Raven’s arm and started writing out instructions. “Keep it clean and dry, replace twice a day using the ointment. I’ve given you a prescription for the stronger burn cream, but over-the-counter stuff will work pretty well too. Keep yourself plenty hydrated, take pain pills as needed. Do you think you need a prescription for the stronger pain medication?”

“Nah.” Raven shook her head. “I’ve still got some from my leg, but I try not to use them too much.”

Alex nodded. “Come back if it gets worse. I’d class this second-degree, but it’s really close to a third degree, so keep watch.”

“Sure thing, Dr. Danvers!” Raven hopped off the bed and wobbled a bit. She frowned and smacked the side of her brace. “Damn, I think I really jammed up that joint.”

“Did you make it yourself?” Alex asked. “Or mod a consumer version?”

“Made it myself,” Raven replied, proudly.

Alex whistled. “I’m impressed.”

Raven grinned. “Thanks. Will I see you at the festival tomorrow?”

Alex shrugged. “Maybe. Tell Dr. Griffin hi for me.”

 

When Alex got half a breath, she was ten hours into a twelve-hour shift. Flopping down into a chair in the break room with yet another cup of coffee she pulled out her phone. She ignored the texts from her mom, debated blocking Maggie’s number, and finally got to Kara’s thread. There were a couple adorable puppy pictures followed by a selfie of Kara and Bothgar. Alex smiled before pulling up her keyboard and tapping away.

_Hey._

Kara Stone: _Hi. :-)_

_How was your day?_

Kara Stone: _Looking up, now. :D_

Kara Stone: _I discovered my chunkin’ machine was kind of trashed and I spent most of the day fixing it. :-(_

Kara Stone: _But! I think it’s all set now. Ready to destroy the competition. Mwahahahaha!_

Kara Stone: _Destroy in the nicest way possible, of course._

_Of course._

_What’s a chunkin’ machine?_

Kara Stone: _Pumpkin Chunkin’!!!!!!!!!_

Karta Stone: _Purely mechanical attempts to throw pumpkins further and faster and harder than everyone else._

Kara Stone: _I compete in the Fall Festival every year. *flexed arm emoji*_

_Well, I was going to ask if you were going, but I guess that answers that._

Kara Stone: _Yep! I’ll be there all day. Clark’s really looking forward to it too, but he needs to get his homework done first. :\_

Kara Stone: _Are you going?_

_Yeah, I think so._

_What time are you competing?_

Kara Stone: _Sometime between 8 and 12. They don’t have the lineup yet, but they try to have the whole competition done by noon so they can use the field for other stuff later._

_Okay._

_What are you doing tonight?_

Kara Stone: _Chores, dinner, reading._

Kara Stone: _You?_

_Probably straight to bed. I’ve still got a couple hours of work left._

_Speaking of, there’s my pager going off. Ttyl._

Kara Stone: _See you tomorrow! <3 _

 

The last six hours of work were absolutely grueling. What should have been two hours of bandaging cuts and setting casts had turned into a five-hour surgery when someone had come in needing an emergency appendectomy. Alex groaned as she slumped down into her seat. She rested her head on the steering wheel, trying to muster up the strength to drive home. A wave of dizziness rushed over Alex when she straightened up. She paused with her fingers over the ignition. Should she call a taxi or something?

Unbidden, Maggie's face came across her mind as she remembered the last time she'd gotten a ride home from work. Maggie had glared and huffed when Alex had walked through the door and mentioned that she'd grabbed an Uber. "What do you mean you left your car at the hospital, how are we supposed to get to work tomorrow? I told you I was leaving mine at the station!"

Alex nodded to herself. It wasn't a long drive home; she could probably make it. She turned the car on and reached for the parking brake, only to notice her hand was shaking. That was worse than the last time. And Maggie wasn't here. No one would care if she took a cab home.

Alex turned off the car and fumbled for her phone to look for a ride. Unfortunately, the nearest cab company was in Independence, a good half an hour away, assuming they had a car free on a Friday night. There weren't any Ubers in the area either.

She bit her lip and hit speed dial.

 _"Alex! Hi!"_ Kara's cheerful voice came through.

"Um, I don't think I can drive home from work."

Kara's voice betrayed her worry. _"What's wrong? What are you doing still at work? I thought you got off hours ago!”_

"Emergency appy," Alex said. "It took longer than I expected and now I'm a bit dizzy and shaky."

_"I'll be right there."_

There was a click as Kara hung up. Alex frowned at the phone. She jerked when not thirty seconds later there was a knock on her window. She turned to see Kara standing there, a worried expression on her face.

Alex opened the car door and tried to get out, but another wave of dizziness came over her and she stumbled. When she came to herself, she was wrapped in Kara's arms, her head resting on Kara's shoulder and her arms tucked between them.

Kara gently brushed some hair out of Alex's face. "When was the last time you ate?"

Alex thought hard. "I had some coffee during my break when I texted you."

Kara shifted slightly, rubbing Alex's back. "When was the last time you ate something that wasn't coffee?"

"Yesterday? Yesterday. I had a few beers and a hot pocket last night."

"All right," Kara said. "Let's get you home and get you something balanced to eat. Does that sound good?"

"Yeah." Alex pushed herself away from Kara and walked to the passenger side of the car.

Kara slipped into the driver's seat and started the car.

Alex closed her eyes. "Thank you," she murmured. "For coming to rescue me."

"Always," Kara replied, but Alex was already asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, this was supposed to be a quick filler chapter before we got to the fair and then stuff happened. I swear the next chapter will be the fluffy happiness I promised you with the story.


	15. A Fair Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is both really long and really fluffy. Have fun!

Alex rolled over in bed, trying to snuggle into her companion’s side. She woke up when she nearly fell off and blinked blearily. There was nobody in her bed. It took her a moment to remember that there really shouldn’t be anyone in her bed either. She was in Kansas and did not have a girlfriend. Still, she couldn’t shake the feeling that someone had kissed her forehead as she fell asleep.

Glancing at the clock, Alex decided she had time to go for a run before she needed to be at the festival. After a brisk few miles, she took a long hot shower. It was about 7:30 when she left the house. She stopped by the diner and picked up a breakfast sandwich, two coffees, and a horrific number of pastries.

Once she parked in the field turned into a parking lot, it wasn’t hard to find the Pumpkin Chunkin’. An assortment of contraptions lined the field, and people bustled around them, checking ropes and levers and air horns.

Kara’s contraption was near the end of the line, and she and Clark were carefully staking it into the ground. Alex eyed it curiously. It was longer than it was tall or wide and the main feature was a massive pipe aiming upward at an angle. There was a push stick half way out of the back of the pipe, and two arms attached to springs on either side. In fact, Alex thought, it looked somewhat like a cross between a massive crossbow and a pop gun.

Kara looked up with a grin when Alex drew closer. “Hi!”

“Hey.” Alex pushed the bag of pastries and coffee carrier towards Kara. “I brought second breakfast.”

Kara grinned wider, accepting the coffee and pulling a pastry out of the bag. Alex offered the bag to Clark and he grabbed two.

“I’m going to go see if the others are here yet.” he said and dashed off.

Kara accepted another pastry, and Alex chose a sugar donut to nibble on, just to be companionable.

“What do you think of Thunderbird?” Kara asked, gesturing to the machine. “It’s pretty much the same as last year, but I’ve been working on getting the friction down, so I’m hoping to beat my record.”

Alex looked at it closely. “Did you base it on a ballista?”

“I did!” Kara bounced in happiness. “But I’m using steel torsion springs instead of ropes, ‘cause they’re stronger.”

“And the barrel is for accuracy because it’s a pumpkin and doesn’t have fletching.”

“Right.” Kara beamed and shoved the rest of her pastry in her mouth.

A static-y megaphone began making an announcement near the middle of the field and Kara snapped her head in that direction. “We’re starting!” Kara slid next to Alex and put her hand on Alex’s lower back, ushering her towards the side. “Only the contestants are allowed on the field now, but I’ve got a good set up here in the back of Gertrude. You’ll have a great view.”

Indeed, Gertrude was parked with her tailgate facing the field, and Kara had arranged two camping chairs, a blanket, and a small table in the back. Kara squatted down slightly and hooked her hands together. “Give you a lift up?”

Alex smiled in thanks and tucked her foot into Kara’s hands. It would have been a bit awkward to scramble up there. Kara lifted with ease and Alex practically flew into the bed, steadying herself on the side. Bothgar, who was lying next to the camping chairs, looked up and woofed at her. Kara gave a cheerful wave. “Make yourself comfortable, this shouldn’t be long!”

Alex nodded, “Good luck!” and Kara dashed back to her position in the competition.

The height of the truck really did give Alex an excellent view of the field. It was angled so she could see the entire line of pumpkin chunkers without any one machine in front of any of the others. Alex set her coffee down on the little table and smiled. It had a cute tablecloth and a glass of water holding a couple wildflowers, as well as a basket of muffins and a bottle of orange juice. She settled into the camp chair, draping the blanket over her lap. The chill of the morning was lasting longer and longer, this late into the year.

The next few hours flew by. The machines were given three shots a piece, first for distance, then for accuracy, and done in stages. Kara would join her in the truck whenever it wasn’t her group’s turn to shoot. Most machines flung the pumpkins all over the field (it was nearly orange with debris) but there were a few spectacular failures that got just as much clapping and hooting and hollering as the successful ones.

Alex found herself chuckling at the antics: people getting into bragging wars with the boasts getting progressively more and more improbable; the faintly ridiculous names of the machines; the pumpkin collectors doing cartwheels or handstands on their way to pick up the debris.

She shouted as loud as she could when Kara’s turn came up. She’d been joined at that point by Clark and Lois and Jimmy, who perched on the sides of the truck bed and yelled quite creative insults at the other contestants. They all hollered and clapped and whistled after Kara’s first throw. Alex wasn’t sure, from her angle, but it certainly looked like it had gone further than anyone else’s so far. Of course, they had to wait until the end when all the distances and scores were announced, to know for sure, but they cheered their loudest anyway.

Bothgar slept through it all.

Once all the machines had had their turn and the judges and squirreled away to award the final points, Kara joined them. She leapt into the truck bed (a standing vertical jump of at least five feet, and she didn’t even look bothered by it) and flopped into the camping chair next to Alex.

Her eyes were bright with excitement. “I love this. The whole thing.” She waved her hands to encompass the competition, the fair, and her friends.

“Did you beat your record?” Alex asked.

“Yes! At least, unofficially. We have to wait until they release the official distances to be sure.”

Clark poked at Kara. “Can we get some lunch?”

She craned her head to look at him. “Yeah, go ahead, I want to stick around until they post the distances.”

He nodded eagerly and hopped off the truck, quickly followed by Lois and Jimmy.

Kara leaned over and rubbed Bothgar’s head. “You having fun?” she asked Alex.

“Yeah,” Alex replied. “I really am.”

Kara smiled up at her, a slow, sweet, smile. “I’m glad.”

 

It didn’t take long for the results to be posted. Kara had indeed beat out her record from the previous year (by a whole 43 feet) and had thoroughly trounced the competition. Kara grinned and accepted the back slaps and handshakes of congratulations. It seemed most people had expected that result and were more focused on whether or not they’d beaten their own previous year’s records.

“No trophy?” Alex asked.

Kara shook her head. “No, we just get bragging rights and our names on a plaque in the city hall.”

Alex looked at Kara. “How many years have you won?”

Kara gave off a cough that sounded suspiciously like “Eight” and fiddled with Bothgar’s leash.

“I see. What’s next?”

“Lunch!” Kara exclaimed, grabbing Alex’s hand and pulling her towards the main part of the festival. “There’s so much food here, you can get nearly anything you like!”

Alex laughed as she let herself be pulled along, Bothgar trotting beside the two of them, looking much more energetic now that food had been mentioned.

Alex got a corn dog and a funnel cake.

Bothgar got the patties from three hamburgers and a dish of water.

Kara got four corndogs, some fried oreos, a funnel cake, a donut hamburger, pizza, a gyro, two turkey legs, and a slushie the size of Alex’s arm.

 

After demolishing the large pile of food in front of her, Kara cocked her head. “What do you want to do now?”

Alex thought. “Could we do the Maize Maze? We didn’t have those back in Midvale.”

“Of course!” Kara scooped up all of their trash and deposited in the nearby can while Alex unhooked Bothgar’s leash from the table leg. Alex offered the leash to Kara, but Kara shook her head and wrapped her arms through Alex’s as they walked.

The maze itself was not terribly complicated (they found the center in mere minutes), even though it was rather large. Half of it was made from growing corn, easily seven feet tall. The other half was stacked bales of hay. In this portion, different companies had sponsored sections of the paths and decorated them. There were display themes from ‘Scary Halloween’ to ‘Goofy Farm Equipment’. There were nooks and crannies and it appeared a group of kids was using it to play a complicated form of hide and seek.

Bothgar sniffed at everything as Alex and Kara wandered through, exclaiming over the displays, critiquing the difficulty of the puzzle, and mentally mapping the route. Kara said hi to everybody they passed. Literally everybody. They all seemed to know her too, responding with a cheerful “Hey, Kara” or a polite “Ms. Stone”. Most of the kids running by stopped to give her a quick hug, or at the very least a hi-five.

Kara and Alex were exploring the last dead end when Bothgar suddenly lunged forward. They turned a corner to see him straining towards a couple of people. They moved a few steps forward and found Lucy and Vasquez necking, half hidden behind Winn’s ‘Star Tech’ display. Lucy was pressed up against the hay bale wall, her head thrown back and eyes half closed.

Kara snorted softly, gave a loud wolf whistle, and teasingly told them to “get a room”.

Vasquez pulled back, blushing, but Lucy just flipped Kara off. “You’re just jealous.”

Kara chuckled. “I plead the fifth.”

“Are you hitting on my girlfriend?” Lucy drawled.

Kara tilted her head. “If I were hitting on your girlfriend, you would know. So, clearly, I’m not.”

“Don’t think she’s attractive enough?”

Kara opened her mouth, but Alex interrupted by tugging lightly on Kara’s arm. “Lucy, Vasquez, nice to see you, Kara let’s go look at scarecrows, hm?”

Kara closed her mouth and smiled at Alex. “Yeah, let’s.”

They waved goodbye to Lucy and Vasquez and made their way out of the maze. Kara sniggered, once they were out of hearing distance. “You know, that’s not the most compromising position I’ve caught her in.”

Alex blanched. “I don’t want to know. I really, really, really, don’t want to know.”

 

They quickly exited the maze and walked over to the Scarecrow Contest. Pretty much every class at the schools had made a scarecrow, and they were divided into practical, scary, cute, and funny, then further divided into age groups.

Kara spun around. “I don’t know where to start! They all look so good!”

Alex glanced around and noticed Raven and Abby standing near one of the ‘cute’ scarecrows. A young blonde girl was hanging onto Raven’s hand and bouncing up and down.

“Let’s go say hi to them?” Alex suggested.

“Sure!”

Abby noticed them after just a moment and smiled, tapping Raven on the shoulder. “Raven, Clarke, this is Dr. Alex Danvers. I work with her. And you both know Kara.”

The little girl, Clarke apparently, waved shyly and tucked her head against Raven’s leg. Bothgar nosed her gently until she giggled and patted him on the head, at which point he settled to the ground, satisfied.

Raven smiled. “Yeah, Alex and I have met. I’m glad you made it out.”

Abby raised an eyebrow. “You’ve met?”

Raven froze. “Um, in passing? At the hospital?”

“I see.” Abby smirked and turned to Kara and Alex. “Have you looked at the scarecrows yet?”

Kara shook her head. “Nope, that’s why we’re over here. It was pumpkin chunkin’ all morning.”

“Well, Clarke’s class did this one here,” Abby said, moving slightly, so they could see the scarecrow behind her. It was an astronaut, complete with moon and stars above her, a rocket at her feet, and a multi-colored spacesuit.

“Do you want to tell them which part you did?” Abby asked Clarke.

Clarke clutched Raven’s leg but pointed at the rocket attached to the bottom of the scarecrow. “I painted the rocket. Lexa built the helmet and Tony drew the stars.”

“It’s very well done,” Kara said. “You must be pretty good with a paintbrush.”

Clarke nodded, relaxing slightly. “I like painting.”

“Yeah? Me too! What’s your favorite color to paint with?”

Alex shuffled her feet as Kara and Clarke held a full-blown conversation about the advantages of finger painting over using a paintbrush. She really wasn’t any good with kids. She had no idea what to do or say around them.

“Enjoying the fair?” Raven asked, noticing Alex’s discomfort.

Alex jerked her head up. “Yeah, yeah, I am. It’s a lot bigger than I expected.”

Raven chuckled. “Yeah, small town, but a massive Fall Festival. It’s pretty much the biggest thing all year, though, just to warn you.”

“Oh. Right.”

Abby cut in. “The Fourth of July celebration tends to be pretty big.”

“Okay, yeah,” Raven conceded. “Still, tends to be a pretty quiet town. Which I’m guessing you like?”

Alex shrugged. “It’s different. Which I think is a good thing.”

Clarke tugged on Abby’s hand. “Mom, I’m hungry.”

Abby looked down. “All right, sweetheart, let’s go get something to eat.” She looked up again. “It was nice to see y’all.”

They waved their goodbyes and Alex and Kara turned to the crowd of scarecrows. The cute ones were, well, cute. Lots of cartoon characters or professions, a unicorn that Kara “D’awww”ed at, and a ‘My Little Pony’ collection that was impressive in its accuracy.

The funny ones were probably hilarious the first time you saw them, but after seeing six different scarecrows ‘mooning’ her, Alex was pretty much over it.

The practical ones were pretty bland, in Alex’s opinion, though Kara “oooh”ed over one that supposedly worked best against sparrows. Alex discreetly took a couple of pictures (from multiple angles) just in case Kara wanted to reproduce it for her fields.

They saved the scary scarecrows for last. Kara walked a little closer to Alex and tucked her arm around Alex’s again. Alex shifted a little, so Kara could comfortably press up against her side. Alex grinned as they examined the scarecrows. There was a whole batch that reproduced most of the characters from ‘Nightmare Before Christmas’, a very good Freddy Krueger, as well as your more general witches, madmen, vampires, werewolves, and other supernatural creatures. There was also a clown section, with dripping red makeup and creepy grins, that had Kara clutching at Alex so hard Alex was sure she would end up with bruises.

Alex’s absolute favorite scarecrow, however, was titled “Nevermore”. It was a coffin propped at an angle next to a faux-brick wall, where a raven perched. As you lifted the lid of the coffin, you could see the dearly departed scarecrow lying inside, complete with an impressively realistic beating heart. Alex was fascinated. Their heart model was better than most of the ones she’d seen in med school. Even Kara relaxed enough to comment that she rather enjoyed Poe’s poetry.

 

Eventually, Alex allowed Kara to lead them away from the scarecrows and past the “Biggest Vegetable Competition” displays to the row of carnival games. Alex smiled at the feeling of home it provided. The pier near Midvale had been a popular hangout spot during her teenaged years and here she was flooded with the same sights, sounds, and smells.

Kara paused, Alex briefly being tugged between stopped Kara and enthusiastic Bothgar (he’d spotted a dropped piece of hot dog). Alex turned to Kara, pulling Bothgar back and patting him distractedly. “Did you want to play something?”

“Yes, I think I do,” Kara said firmly.

She strode towards a memory game, the type where you stare at a covered display for 30 seconds, then write down as many as you can remember. She put down her money and then turned to a disappointed looking girl standing next to the stall. “Do you think you could help me? I’m not very good at these kinds of things.”

The girl shrugged. “I’m not very good either.”

“Well, then, maybe between the two of us we can beat it, eh?” Kara said, with a smile and a cock of her head.

“Okay.” The girl stepped forward.

The cloth was removed with a flourish and they each stared studiously at the tray of disparate items. Once 30 seconds were up, they both started scribbling on their pieces of paper. They consulted for a few seconds, heads together, then passed the papers to the carnie. He read over their lists, raised his eyebrows, and said, “Congratulations. Which prize do you want?”

Kara turned to the girl. “I think the GI Joe looks lonely. What do you think?”

She nodded eagerly, and the man took the GI Joe down and passed it over. Kara handed it to the girl. “Thank you for your help!”

The girl beamed up at Kara. “You’re welcome!” and skipped off.

Alex melted. Kara was literally the nicest, kindest, best, person she had ever met. And smart, and strong, and beautiful, and . . . Alex jerked out her reverie when Kara tucked herself against her. “Thanks for stopping,” Kara said.

“Sure,” Alex replied.

 

They continued strolling down the row, enjoying the breeze and joyful atmosphere.

“What kind of teddy bear did you have as a kid?” Alex asked, smiling at the display of stuffed animals of all shapes and sizes.

“What kind of teddy bear?” Kara asked, confused.

“Well, not everyone has a stuffed bear, but most people call them teddy bears as a sort of general thing. I had a stuffed otter, actually. Slept with it for years.”

“A stuffed otter.” Kara repeated dumbly.

“Yeah, we got it at the Monterey Bay Aquarium when I was really little. My parents are scientists, all our outings were to zoos or aquariums or museums or stuff like that.”

Kara tipped her hat back and scratched at her head. “I never had a stuffed animal.”

“Never?” Alex clarified.

“Nope.” Kara shrugged. “I had a special blanket I always slept with, though. Still have it.”

Alex leaned closer, conspiratorially. “My otter is on my bed right now.”

Kara laughed. She’d seen the worn-but-still-a-little-fuzzy object the night before, but hadn’t realized what it was.

They’d passed a couple more games when Alex looked at Kara curiously. “What kind of animal would you like? You know, if you had a stuffed animal?”

Kara wrinkled her nose in thought. “I dunno. A dog maybe? Or a unicorn? Or . . .” Kara paused, her eye catching on a large brown bear with a snub nose and cute round black eyes and a pair of soft corduroy overalls hanging from the next game stall.

Alex smirked. “You got it.”

She strode toward the stall and eyed the game. “What do I need to do to win that bear over there?”

The attendant languidly answered. “Knock down all the ducks twice. Once on the slow speed and once on the fast speed. 10 bucks a try.”

Alex grinned. Her expression reminded Kara of a dramonicus - predatory and gleeful all at once.

Alex slapped a twenty on the counter and inspected the gun she was handed carefully. She gestured to the attendant and the ducks creaked into motion.

Raising the gun to her shoulder, Alex looked confident and in control.

Kara swallowed. Confident Alex was a little overwhelming.

Twenty shots later, and all the ducks were flat on their backs. Alex gestured again and the attendant sighed, resetting the ducks and cranking up the speed. Another twenty shots rang out and the ducks were again flatter than pancakes.

Alex handed the gun back smugly and pointed to the bear. “I want that one, please.”

The attendant unhooked the bear from its place and passed it over with an obligatory “Congratulations.”

Alex promptly gave the bear to Kara. “Now you own a stuffed animal.”

Kara stared at it.

Alex ran her hand through her hair. “That is the one you were looking at, right? I can win you a different one.”

Kara reached over and pulled Alex into a fierce hug. “It’s perfect. Thank you.”

 

A few minutes later Alex asked, noticing the way Kara’s eyes followed the cotton candy spinner, “Time for dinner, do you think?"

“Sounds good.” Kara replied.

Alex nodded and passed Bothgar’s leash over. “Find us a seat, will you? I’ll grab us food.”

“But . . .” Kara started protesting.

“You bought lunch, so it’s my turn.” Alex stated, before weaving through the crowds to the waffle stand.

She came back with three trays balanced expertly on her arms, each piled high with every sort of food she could find. Kara’s smile and admiring stare made every minute of the four years she spent part-timing as a waitress worth it.

Alex slid the trays smoothly on the table and withdrew a couple of dishes, which she put on the ground for Bothgar. Kara gave her a grateful glance, then dug in. Alex had bought some basics (pizza, hot dogs, hamburgers, gyros, turkey legs, corn dogs) as well as some fun stuff (waffles, french toast, mac ‘n’ cheese, bacon), sweets (elephant ears, funnel cakes, doughnuts, candies), and fried things (fried oreos, cheese curds, french fries, mozzarella sticks, fried twinkies). Alex fully intended to ignore most of the food and just eat a slice of pizza and maybe some mozzarella sticks.

They chowed down in silence until Kara bit into a fried twinkie and moaned. “This is sooooo gooooooood. You have got to try it!”

Kara held the twinkie across the table expectantly. Alex leaned forward, and Kara gently moved the fried piece of sugar to her lips. Half grateful she didn’t have to touch it, and half wondering what she’d gotten herself into, Alex took a bite.

Her first thought was,  _ huh, that’s actually kind of yummy _

Her second thought was, _ oh, that’s what Kara’s fingers feel like on my lips _

Her third thought was,  _ I am in serious trouble _

It didn’t seem like Kara was bothered that Alex had brushed against her fingers while tasting the twinkie, so Alex shook herself out of it, focusing back on her pizza.

 

After dinner, and a brief stop to listen to the local bluegrass group, they bought a bag of kettle corn and a large stick of cotton candy to munch on. It was getting late, the sun just about to set.

“Hey.” Kara said. “Want to go on the Ferris Wheel?”

Alex glanced at the row of couples waiting in line and swallowed. “Yeah, sure.”

“Not scared of heights are you?” Kara asked.

“Not at all.” Alex replied.

“Oh, good. That’s good.”

Kara tied Bothgar to a vendor’s tent and asked the woman inside to keep an eye on him. The woman waved Kara off. “Of course I will. Have fun with your date, deary.”

Kara blushed and hurried back to Alex, bustling her along until they stood in line. As they stood there, Alex leaned over and dragged her thumb across Kara’s cheek.

Kara relaxed into her hand.

“Uh, you had a bit of cotton candy.” Alex gestured nervously.

“Oh. Thanks.” Kara straightened up, shuffling her feet and shifting just a little bit further away from Alex. Alex didn’t like the feeling she got when Kara did that.

Once they’d been ushered into their seat, Alex scooted so she was touching Kara from knee to shoulder. Kara leaned into her slightly as the wheel started rotating and Alex dropped her head onto Kara’s shoulder. They got their pause at the top just as the sun dipped down below the horizon.

“Beautiful.” Kara murmured.

Alex twisted her head to look at Kara. “Yes.”

 

They broke out of their little bubble when the wheel rumbled to a stop and the attendant rattled off his “safely dismounting the ride” spiel.

They’d just collected Bothgar when they heard a shout. “Hey, Kara, hey, Alex!”

Clark ran up to the two of them and focused on Kara. “Can I have some money to go on the hayride with Lois? And Caleb was looking for you.”

Kara dug in her pocket and passed Clark some cash. “Glad to see you’re still alive. A hayride is fine; be back at the truck by 11. Get some popcorn and cider while you’re at it. Really woo her.”

Clark rolled his eyes, but accepted the money before bounding off. “Thanks, Kara!”

Kara turned to Alex. “I’d better go see what Caleb wants. Catch up to you later?”

“Yeah, I’ll just be wandering around.” Alex waved Kara off.

Alex did wander around some more - she took another look at the Poe Scarecrow (really impressive work with the heart there) and smiled at the pictures of the winning jack ‘o’ lanterns.

Still, she couldn’t resist the urge for long and soon found herself sidling through the flap of the beer tent. It was a little fuller than when she’d peeked in earlier, but she managed to find a seat at the end of the bar. Alex glanced at the list of drinks available and mentally noted the ones she wanted to try. It was a rather long list.

Alex waved the bartender over.

 

-

 

Kara casually wove through the crowds, following the thu-thump of Alex’s heartbeat. Dealing with Caleb had taken much longer than she had wanted. He wanted to interview her about her “eighth year in a row win” of the pumpkin chunkin’ contest, and hadn’t been very happy with her vague explanation of how her mechanism worked. She’d tried to convince him that she didn’t want anyone stealing her design, but he was annoyingly persistent. He did have some valid points about cheating, but really, it wasn’t her fault she was stronger than everyone else _ and  _ basically had a Ph.D. in physics just from what she’d learned on Krypton.

By the time he’d finished interrogating her, it was rather late, the sky completely dark, and she was worried Alex had left. But, as she listened, she found Alex’s slow heartbeat put her very much in the thick of things. Kara whistled a little. It was nice to spend nearly the whole day with Alex, and she might even be able to convince her to stay the night. Just so she could get a proper tour of Kara’s home gym in the morning, of course.

Kara amended the thought to definitely convincing Alex to stay the night when she walked into the large tent and spotted Alex downing a glass of the town’s local homebrew whiskey. Kara winced. That particular whiskey was one of the strongest ones. Kara could almost get a buzz from it, if she chugged two whole bottles and hadn’t been in sunlight for a week.

Kara made her way through the now-crowded tent and stepped up behind Alex. “Hey, Alex, sorry I took so long.”

“It’s no problem.” Alex waved. “I kept myself amused shutting down all the idiots hitting on me.”

Kara glanced at Chuck, the bartender.

He lifted a shoulder. “She’s pretty good at it.”

Kara leaned forward and surreptitiously sniffed at Alex. Under the smells of sweat, body wash, straw, grease, and sugar (all remnants of their day together), thrummed the scent that was just Alex. Unfortunately, her unique scent was swimming in the harsh smell of alcohol. It permeated her blood and cells and nearly overwhelmed Kara. She quickly toned down her sense of smell and settled into the stool next to Alex.

“How many have you had?” Kara asked.

Alex stiffened. “Not much, just tried a couple of your local ales. They’re pretty good. You should try one.”

Kara eased back at Alex’s defensive posturing. “Yeah, I guess I could have one. Not any more, though. I still need to drive home.”

“That’s very responsible of you.” Alex nodded firmly and waved at the bartender and told him firmly to put Kara’s beer on her tab.

Kara was halfway through the beer and mentally calculating just how much Alex had had (based on the ales she recommended and how functional she was despite having two more whiskeys since Kara got there) when an over the top cowboy showed up. He was throwing out sleazy pick up lines and, honestly, Kara couldn’t tell which of them he was trying to hit on.

She got it when, after she tried to get him to leave, he said, “Oh, now you're saying no to men? Should have learned that skill back before you got pregnant.”

Kara rolled her eyes and didn’t bother correcting him. Clark was hers and it didn’t matter that she was his cousin and not his mother; she’d take care of him no matter what.

Alex, however, moved faster than she should have been able to with that much alcohol in her.

She shoved the guy and stepped into his space. “Listen, buddy, you think she sleeps around because she was a teenager with a kid? You think she’s going to fall for you because you look all big and strong and think you can take care of her? She is strong and amazing and you are not worthy of her!”

The guy swaggered forward a step. “I’d be happy to take care of you when I’m done with her.”

Alex’s fist snapped out, sending him crashing to the ground. “You’ll never be done with her because you’ll never have her! She deserves better than you!”

He jumped up, lunging at Alex.

Alex ducked and spun, sending him crashing to the ground again.

Bothgar was growling and the rest of the patrons started circling as Alex and the man met in a flurry of blows.

Chuck leaned over the bar. “You get your girl out of here and I’ll deal with him.”

Kara nodded, standing up and catching Alex as she was shoved backwards by a particularly violent punch.

Alex made to leap forward again, fists clenched, but Kara held her back. “C’mon Alex, he’s not worth our time.”

Alex growled.

“Besides,” Kara wheedled, “I kind of want to go home now. Will you take me home?”

Alex huffed. “Fine. But he’d better not come near you again!”

Kara steered Alex out of the tent, whistling for Bothgar to follow. Once they’d gotten far enough away, Kara dug her phone out of her pocket. She sent a quick text to Clark telling him to get a ride home with someone. He could even stay over at Jimmy’s if he wanted, but not Lois’s.

Alex had stumbled a few yards ahead of Kara, leaning on Bothgar as he herded her towards the parking lot. Kara hurried to catch up.

She wrapped her arm around Alex’s shoulders, keeping her steady. “Did you punch everybody else who was hitting on you tonight?”

“No, but he wasn’t hitting on me, he was hitting on you.” Alex mumbled.

“And that makes a difference?”

Alex nodded. “You’re always rescuing me. I want to have something to offer you too, and fighting’s what I’m good at.”

Kara felt her heart ache. “You do! You offer me so much. And I really appreciate you sticking up for me, even though I don’t like it when you get hurt.”

“ ‘m fine.” Alex said, but her heart wasn’t in it, and the bruise forming on her cheekbone said otherwise. She looked up at Kara. “Are you okay? He said some nasty things and then the fight got kind of all over the place. I didn’t hurt you did I?”

“No, no, no!” Kara said. “You protected me wonderfully!”

“Good.” Alex nodded firmly and wobbled a little. “But I should probably lie down now. I’m pretty drunk.”

Kara dropped a kiss on Alex’s head. “Let’s go home then, protector mine.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so I may have completely designed Kara’s Pumpkin Chunkin’ Machine while writing this chapter. It’s based off of a ballista, and I think it would work pretty well, though I haven’t actually built it to test.  
> The destroyed pumpkins are fed to livestock. It’s all very green.  
> One of my city’s fall celebrations had a Poe scarecrow with a beating heart. It’s pretty much the only thing I remember from the celebration, so I had to put it in. Also, I didn’t even put the worst fair food in. Fried twinkies and donut hamburgers are just the start.  
> Many thanks to GeneralSan_3 for help with the douchebag, Texaschick for the idea that everybody knows Kara, and both Sarah and GeneralSan_3 for the cheese.


	16. Lazy Sunday

Alex woke to an incessant buzzing. Blinking her eyes, she studied the room. It seemed familiar, which was a good sign. Groaning, Alex slapped at the noise that was seriously aggravating her headache. A particularly hard smack sent her phone flying, and the noise blessedly stopped. Alex sighed and analyzed her situation. She’d definitely gotten wasted the night before, based on the pounding in her head and general malaise, but at least it didn't feel like she'd hooked up with anyone. The room was familiar enough, and with a little thought, she managed to place it. Kara’s house. I’m at Kara’s place.

She sat up, swaying a little when her head spun. There was a bottle of water and a bottle of painkillers on the end table, both knocked over from her flailing at her phone. She swallowed a couple pills and gratefully gulped down the water. It wasn’t the worst hangover she’d had, by far, but she still felt gross. How much had she had to drink last night? Unbidden, a stream of rebukes flowed through her mind.  _ Useless drunk. Couldn’t even make it home last night. Kara had to take care of you. What do you have to offer her? Crazy hours at work, drinking when you’re not working, can’t even take care of yourself . . . _

Shaking her head, Alex glanced down, trying to focus on anything else. She was wearing the same UFO shirt that she’d slept in the first time she’d stayed over at Kara’s and a pair of boxers she didn’t recognize. She ran her hand through her hair, teasing out a few tangles, and picked up her phone. One missed call from Eliza Danvers. Alex petulantly stuck her tongue out at the phone and dropped it on the bed. That was going in the “to be ignored” part of her mind along with the events of the night before. A quick stop by the bathroom later and Alex was shuffling out the bedroom door.

She didn’t get very far.

His tongue flopping around as he panted happily, Bothgar sat directly in front of her door. Well, sat is a generous description. He was wriggling around so much and his tail was wagging so furiously his bottom barely touched the floor.

“What’s got you all energetic, huh?” Alex asked, bending down to give him a friendly rub.

He, of course, didn’t answer, but pushed his head into her hand eagerly. Alex gave Bothgar a final pet and padded down the stairs. He bounded along beside her, nearly pushing her over in his excitement.

She found Kara in her office, just off the front hall. Alex hadn’t seen this room of the house yet and looked around curiously. To the left of the door, there were a few west-facing windows that Alex recognized as looking out onto the front porch. Kara’s desk was long and wide in front of the windows. A couple of monitors were at one end, hooked up to a powerful looking computer. The wireless keyboard and mouse were shoved to the side, making room for the papers, pens, and notebooks that covered the rest of the desk. Bookcases lined the back wall and a drafting table butted up against the far end of the room.  Several old style lamps stuck out from the walls, ensuring that both the desk and the drafting table got optimum light.

Kara spun around in her large leather desk chair when Alex (and Bothgar) appeared in the doorway. After she got over the sight of Alex dressed in  _ her _ clothes, Kara smiled, watching Alex’s eyes flit around the room as her hand absently patted Bothgar.

“I think he’s imprinted on you or something. He was very disappointed when I wouldn’t let him into your room and stayed outside the door all night.”

Alex furrowed her brow in confusion before realizing what Kara was talking about, looking down at Bothgar almost as if she’d forgotten he was there. “Oh. Is that why he’s so excited?”

“Probably.” Kara swayed back and forth in her chair and bit her lip. “How are you feeling?”

Alex leaned up against the door frame, bending her knee. “Eh, not the worst hangover I’ve ever had.”

Kara could still smell the alcohol in Alex’s blood, but it seemed it was well on its way to being filtered out of her body. “What do you say to some greasy breakfast, then? It’s supposed to help, right?”

Alex smiled slightly as she cocked her head. “Have you not had a hangover before?”

Kara shrugged and fiddled with her fingers. “I don’t drink much.”

“Well,” Alex said, “I think a greasy breakfast sounds fantastic, especially if you let me help make it.”

Kara grinned and stood up. “Great.”

Alex straightened, allowing Kara to brush past her through the doorway. “Though, to be honest, I have no idea how to make a greasy breakfast.”

Kara laughed. “I’ll show you. You’ll be frying up bacon and flapjacks in no time!”

Alex looked down at Bothgar. “Flapjacks? Has she been watching a few too many Westerns lately?”

Bothgar woofed.

 

“Where’s Clark?” Alex asked as she followed Kara into the kitchen. The house had been unusually quiet for one a teenager lived in.

“Still over at Jimmy’s,” Kara replied, pulling two griddles out from a bottom cupboard. “He stayed over last night.”

“Right.” Alex shoved her hand in her pockets. Or at least tried to, before realizing that those boxers didn’t have pockets.

“Grab a bowl and a fork, will you?” Kara asked.

“Yeah, sure.”

Alex grabbed the bowl and fork and Kara presented her with the pancake recipe. After a few mishaps, a short flour fight, and lots of laughter, they had their first perfectly round pancake cooking on one griddle while bacon sizzled on the other.

“You know it’s ready to flip when the edges are shiny and you can see bubbles in the batter,” Kara explained.

“Okay.” Alex looked around. “Spatula?”

Kara chuckled. “Oh no, in this house we flip our flapjacks with the pan.”

Alex immediately stepped back and gestured to the stove. “Be my guest.”

Kara laughed, reaching out and gently tugging on Alex’s wrist until she stood in front of the stove again. Kara stepped behind Alex, wrapping her arms around Alex's waist. Running her hands down Alex’s arms, Kara placed Alex’s fingers around the handle of the pan, and carefully held both Alex’s hand and the pan.

“Relax, and feel how I do this.”

With an expert flick of her wrist, the pancake sailed into the air, flipped over once, and landed back in the middle of the pan.

“You try the next one by yourself,” Kara said. “We don't have to stick with rounds either. We can make them into animal shapes! I do birds really well.”

Alex gulped. She would try the next one by herself, but she had no idea how to do it. Focusing on how Kara had flipped the pan had been impossible with Kara’s arms around her, Kara’s chin resting on her shoulder, and Kara’s voice in her ear.

 

Alex surprisingly got the hang of flipping pancakes after about the fifth try. They weren’t nearly as neat as Kara’s, but they also stayed in the pan and got cooked, so she counted it a win. Alex insisted on Kara eating the pancakes while she cooked. She knew how much Kara could eat, and this way Kara got them warm off the griddle.

Eventually (after most of the batter was gone and they’d snacked on the bacon as it came off the grill), Kara shooed Alex away from the stove and sat her down at the table.

Kara waggled her fingers. “Time for me to work my magic! And no peeking!”

Alex settled back in the chair and closed her eyes. “I promise I won’t peek.”

A few minutes later and Kara swooped a plate down in front of Alex. “Ta-da!”

Alex blinked. In front of her were three gamboling otter pancakes, chasing each other around the plate.

“ . . . wow.”

“You like?” Kara asked nervously.

Alex looked up immediately. “I love.”

Kara relaxed and grinned. “Oh, good.”

 

After finishing eating and cleaning up and feeding Bothgar bits of leftovers, Kara bounced a little. “Do you want to see the workout room?”

Alex blinked. “Uh, sure.”

Kara eyed her calculatingly. “It’s out under one of the barns, so you’ll want shoes. Actually, do you just want to borrow some workout clothes? Then you can test out the equipment.”

“That would be awesome.” Alex usually spent several hours at the gym after her nights out, and she didn’t think just going for a long run would cut it after the night before.

Kara grinned and darted into her room to grab an extra pair of running shorts and a tank. Luckily, Alex had worn a pair of tennis shoes to the fair the day before. They weren’t her running shoes, but they would work.

Kara met her at the top of the stairs and passed over the clothes, telling her she’d meet her downstairs. Bothgar followed her into the room while she changed.

“You know,” Alex said, smiling at the collie. “You’re the first guy I’ve let watch me change. You should feel very special.”

Bothgar rolled over in silent supplication for a belly rub. He knew he was special. Alex indulged him for a few minutes. It was nice, having access to a dog like this. Her parents had never let her get a pet.

 

When Alex got back downstairs, Kara had changed too, from her jeans and button up shirt to a very short pair of shorts and a tank top.

Alex nearly walked into the door frame.

Kara led the way out the back door and Alex blinked. It was a lot brighter out here than in the house.

“Hey!” Kara stopped short and got an intense look on her face as she stared at Alex.

Alex looked back. “What?”

Kara stepped forward, gently cupping Alex’s face. She carefully twisted Alex’s head slightly, to get a better look at the bruise that had turned delightful shades of blue and purple.

“It didn’t look this bad last night,” Kara muttered. “I thought you were all right.”

Alex shrugged and tried to pull away, but Kara didn’t move. It was as if she were a steel statue. “Well, you know, bruises can take a while to show.”

Kara reached out and pulled Alex’s hand up to examine the knuckles. “These are bruised too!”

“Yeah, that’s what happens when you punch someone.”

“Do they hurt?”

Alex shrugged. She didn’t want to lie to Kara, because, yeah, they hurt, but it’s not like she hadn’t had worse.

Kara brought Alex’s knuckles to her lips, exhaling a cool breath of air before pressing a light kiss to each one. Alex froze. Kara leaned forward just a little and ghosted another cool breath against her cheekbone before gently kissing the bruise there too.

Suddenly, Kara jerked back, as if she’d realized what she’d done. She rubbed the back of her neck. “Um, my mom used to kiss my bruises better.”

Alex swallowed. Her mouth seemed unusually dry. “They do feel better now. Thank you.”

“Anytime,” Kara muttered, her blush traveling down her face and under her tank.

“So.” Alex desperately wanted something to bleed off the tension and energy between them. “Where’s that workout room you promised me?”

“Oh! Right!” Kara spun around, nearly tripping over her own feet, and hurried toward one of the barns, ducking around to the side and stopping in front of a cellar door. She heaved it open, revealing a set of stairs going down. A light blinked on as Kara stepped down, showing the stairs to be smooth wood braced against steel girders.

The stairs became a long hall with multiple doors. It wasn’t particularly pretty, all concrete and steel and sharp angles, but it had a sort of majesty to it that felt very Kara.

Kara glanced over at Alex, stopping in front of the first door on the left. “This whole space meets the qualifications for a storm shelter and we’ve got lots of stored food and stuff down here. If anything ever happens, we’ll be all right.”

Kara opened up a panel next to the door and typed in a long string of numbers. She gestured Alex over. When Alex got close enough, she could see that they weren’t actually numbers she had been typing on the screen, but unfamiliar symbols.

“If you could put your hand on the screen?” Kara asked.

“What?”

“Oh, it's to add you to the security system. It’s, uh, biometric.”

Alex shrugged and placed her right hand on the screen.

“Okay, now left hand.” Kara stared at the display and typed something in.

Alex quirked an eyebrow but put her left hand on the door.

“Look at the peephole on the door?” Kara continued.

Alex obliged but couldn’t help questioning. “All this to get into a workout room?”

“Oh, no, no. This is to add you to the security system. Once you’re in, all you’ll have to do is be scanned and the door will unlock automatically.”

“Huh.” Alex filed that away for later too. Her mental ‘Kara’ folder was getting pretty big, but it still had nothing on her ‘to be ignored’ folder.

The locks clicked open and Kara opened the door, bowing Alex through it.

Alex stopped short as soon as she got through the door. Ignoring the odd green and red lights in between the regular lighting, it was every gym rat’s dream. There was a large padded area for floor workouts and sparring. There were punching bags (heavy, light, fast, full body). There were med balls of twenty different weights. There was a whole rack of free weights, plus benches and machines. There was a seriously heavy duty treadmill (it looked more like those things you test cars on honestly), and a wall of mirrors.The ceiling was full of bars and ropes and rings. If Alex really tried, she could probably make her way from one end of the room to the other just hanging and swinging from the ceiling.

“You can use it whenever you want,” Kara said from behind her. “You don’t need to worry about if I’m here or not or anything.”

Alex slowly turned around. “I can use it whenever I want?”

“Well, yeah.” Kara looked puzzled. “Clark and I use it pretty regularly, but there’s plenty of space. And you’re in the security system now.”

Alex stepped forward, trying to take it all in. “I can use all this whenever I want?” she repeated.

Kara smiled and fiddled with a panel on the wall, turning up both the red and green lights. “Yeah, totally.”

Alex barked out a disbelieving laugh and tumbled to the floor, starting her usual stretch / warm up routine.

Kara started out on the weight machines, carefully keeping her rep speed down while still working up a light sweat. Thank goodness for red sun lamps and Kryptonite.

After a while, Alex stopped her warm up and started doing pull-ups on one of the bars on the ceiling. Her shirt rose up every time she let herself hang and Kara could catch a short glimpse of her abs tensing as she pulled herself up before her shirt covered them again.

Realizing she was probably going too fast in her distraction, she sat up and took a drink of water. Was it hot in here? It was feeling a little hot in here.

Alex glanced over. “What do you say to a friendly sparring session? Test out each other’s styles.”

“Sure, sure.” Kara nodded. She could go easy on Alex. She could pretend to be human.

Alex walked to the center of the mat and threw up her arms, waggling her fingers in the universal “come at me, bro” sign.

Kara rolled her shoulders back and dove forward.

Half a second later and she was on her back on the mat.

“Come on,” Alex said. “You can do better than that.”

Kara shrugged, and stepped forward again, throwing a punch.

Alex’s eyes lit up as she blocked it and returned the favor.

They danced around the room, trading punches and kicks and jabs, occasionally grappling on the floor, only to bounce back up to spin again.

Eventually, Kara stumbled back and raised her arms in supplication, panting heavily. Maybe she’d turned the lights up a little too much.

“You’re. Really. Good. At this.” she huffed out.

Alex laughed. “This is why you never skip cardio, farmgirl. You wear out too fast and I win.”

Kara shook her head. “You think you’ve won?”

Alex shrugged, a cocky smile on her face. “I’m not the one sounding asthmatic.”

Kara bent down, placing her hands on her knees, watching Alex out of the corner of her eye. When Alex lifted her shirt to wipe her face, Kara lunged!

Kara collided with Alex, and the two of them tumbled to the ground. Alex tried to gain the upper hand, but Kara wriggled around until she was on top, using one hand to pin Alex’s arms above her head and the other to support her weight.

Alex bucked up into Kara, trying to get her off.

Kara dropped a little more of her weight on Alex. “Who’s winning now?”

Alex’s pupils dilated and Kara was suddenly aware of how much of her body was touching how much of Alex’s.

In her moment of distraction, Alex bucked and twisted, and suddenly Kara was on the ground with Alex hovering over her.

Alex bent down to whisper in Kara’s ear, her breath sending chills up Kara’s spine. “I’m pretty sure I am.”

As Kara lay there, frozen, Alex got up and swaggered to the door. “Great sparring session, thanks! I’m going to hit the shower.”

Kara let out a long groan as the door swung shut behind Alex. “I’m dead.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shoutout to GeneralSan_3, again. You know what you did. Many thanks to Sarah for help with the workout room!


	17. Valentine's Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is just happy fluff to hopefully make your Valentine’s Day a little bit better, whether you’re spending it with that special someone, a group of friends, or waiting for tomorrow to get all the candy on sale.  
> Also, this isn’t actually chapter whatever it is. It takes place well after everything I’ve written, so I'll be reordering things as I write the stuff that should come after previous chapters and before this one. If that makes sense.

Alex used every bit of her not inconsiderable skills to extract herself from Kara’s arms without waking Kara. She replaced her torso with a couple stiff pillows wrapped in a pair of sweats and one of her hoodies. The combination pretty closely matched her smell and feel and size, which hopefully would keep Kara from waking too soon. Add that to the white noise generator Alex had turned on the night before, and it was unlikely Kara would wake up and hear what she was doing in the kitchen.

Alex breathed a little easier once she was outside their room and had the door closed. She listened carefully, but the only noise in the house was Bothgar lightly thumping his tail at the bottom of the stairs. She paused to give him a scratch behind the ears, before padding into the kitchen. Snow gently drifted down outside the windows, and the tile was chilly, even through her socks.

Pulling out pans as quietly as she could (white noise machines only helped so much), Alex set about making a Kryptonian sized breakfast. She also sent a few prayers to Rao, begging that Kara would stay asleep. Alex was not above doing anything to make the day go smoothly.

An hour later, Alex was tiptoeing up the stairs and cursing at Bothgar to stay out from underfoot. She propped the tray against her hip and eased open the door. She had to physically restrain herself from doing a happy dance when she saw that Kara was still curled up around the pillows. Kara wasn’t even faking sleeping, as Alex had caught her doing before!

Alex softly stepped around the bed and set the tray on the bedside table before inserting herself back into Kara’s arms. Alex just watched Kara for a minute, tracing every inch of Kara’s face with her eyes, before leaning in and gently kissing Kara on the cheek. She continued kissing Kara, on her cheeks, on her eyelids, on her lips, until Kara smiled drowsily and hummed in appreciation.

<<Good morning.>> Kara mumbled, blinking blearily and leaning in for another kiss.

<<Happy Valentine’s Day.>> Alex replied. <<I brought you breakfast.>>

Kara’s beamed. <<I love you.>>

Alex smiled in reply and sat up in bed, reaching over for the tray heaped with food.

Kara scooched up beside her and let out a soft “Ooooh.”

The tray was full of all of their favorites: French Toast, hash browns, bacon, eggs, sausage, fruit, and three different kinds of pastries. Alex had even managed to draw a couple hearts in syrup on the toast. A bud vase was tucked on the corner of the tray, holding a single red rose.

Kara stared at the tray for several long seconds, then twisted towards Alex and captured her in a deep kiss.

Alex smiled and relaxed into Kara’s arms.

<<Thank you so much.>> Kara whispered softly, her lips brushing over Alex’s.

<<Anything for you.>> Alex murmured back.

Kara dug into the food, passing the best portions over to Alex, who curled around Kara and happily ate the bites Kara fed her.

 

Unfortunately, they couldn’t stay in bed all day, as the animals needed to be fed and Alex had work. They had to rush a little to get everything done and everyone out the door (they may have gotten a tad distracted in the bedroom before Clark thundering down the stairs alerted them to the time) but soon Clark was on the bus and Alex was kissing Kara goodbye on the front steps.

“Pick you up at six?” Kara asked.

“I’ll be ready.” Alex promised.

 

Alex was antsy all day at the hospital. It was a research day, so fortunately she didn’t need to see any patients. She would focus for a few minutes at a time before staring at the clock willing it to go faster. Finally, about 4, Betsy knocked on her office door.

Alex looked up. “Yes?”

“Go.” Betsy said.

“What?”

Betsy laughed. “Go home and get ready for your girl. Good grief, this is nearly as bad as y’alls first date.” Betsy laughed again as she left, calling back “I mean it! I don’t want to see you here!”

Alex deliberated for all of 5 seconds before grabbing her things and speed walking out to her car. She fumbled with her keys before managing to open the car door and dump her briefcase and jacket on the seat. She sped back to her house (literally; she was over the speed limit the whole time) and dashed through the door.

She had a small moment of panic, Alex did, when she thought maybe she’d left her best lingerie at the farm, but that was resolved by a hurried shuffle through her now (mostly empty) chest of drawers.

She took her time in the shower, since she could, and carefully did her makeup and hair before dressing in a blue sleeveless dress. It had a small cutout just below her sternum and black detailing. Alex had bought it because she thought the blue matched Kara’s eyes and she liked the black trim. A careful tousle of her hair, the addition of some black tear drop earrings, and Alex stepped into her heels just as there was a knock on the door.

Alex opened it quickly and gaped.

Kara stood there, teetering back and forth, holding a beautiful bouquet of gladioli. She was wearing straight black slacks, a white dress shirt, and a slim tuxedo jacket. Her thin tie and neatly folded pocket square matched Alex’s dress perfectly. Kara’s belt was new black leather, but the usual ‘Symbol of El’ adorned the belt buckle. A shiny new black cowboy hat perched on her head, over hair tied half back, just enough to be out of Kara’s face.

“You look amazing.” Alex blurted.

Kara blushed prettily and thrust the bouquet forward. “For you. And you look amazing too. Better than amazing. Wonderful. Hot. Gorgeous.”

Alex chuckled at Kara’s babble and stepped aside to let Kara in. “Let me just put these in some water and we can go.”

Kara pulled off her hat as soon as she entered and held it firmly in her hands as her eyes tracked Alex across the room.

“I’m so lucky.” Kara sighed.

Alex grabbed a jacket and kissed Kara on the cheek. “I’m the lucky one.”

Kara hastened out the door and held both the front door and the car door for Alex, helping her climb up into the cab. It was a lot harder to scale Mount Gertrude in a dress and heels.

As soon as they hit the highway, Kara rested her right arm on the console between the seats, relaxing into one-handed driving. Alex reached over and tangled their fingers together. Kara lifted their hands and dropped kisses onto the the tips of Alex’s fingers.

 

It was close to an hour before they reached the restaurant. An hour full of easy conversation and holding hands. Walking in together (still holding hands), they were quickly shown to a private table with a great view of the river.

“This is a really nice place.” Alex commented.

“Ah, yeah.” Kara tapped her belt. “I did a favor for the owner a while back, and now I get a table whenever I want one. I warned him ahead of time, of course. I mean, Valentine’s Day is always a really big holiday for restaurants and I didn’t want him to stress any more than usual by calling him last minute.”

Alex melted. “You are the kindest person I know.”

Kara blushed and busied herself with pulling out Alex’s chair for her and then staring at the wine list.

“Do you want something to drink?” Kara asked. “Or would you rather stick with something non-alcoholic?”

Alex thought for a moment. “Just one glass of something, I think. And why don’t you pick? Flavor is important to you.”

Kara smiled at Alex with a proud look in her eyes before turning to the waiter and ordering two glasses of champagne.

“Champagne?” Alex cocked an eyebrow. “Not wine? What are we celebrating?”

Kara shrugged. “The fortuitous accident that brought us together. And I like the bubbles.”

Alex laughed at that, throwing her head back and truly chortling.

When she pulled her gaze back to Kara, Alex’s expression softened. “I love you, you know.”

Kara’s smile grew. This was the first time Alex had said that. Kara had said she loved Alex many times before and had reassured Alex that there was no expectation for her to say it because Alex showed it in so many ways. It was fitting those three words would come out in conversation and not with any large romantic gesture. It was just so Alex.

“I do know that.” Kara finally replied. “And I love you too.”

 

After dinner, Kara led Alex a few blocks down the street. “I thought dancing next, if that’s okay with you?”

“I haven’t danced in years.” Alex said, flashing back to her college club days.

“Yeah, but you said you used to enjoy it.”

Alex nodded. “I did. All of it. From ballroom and ballet to modern.”

“Then I think you’ll like this one.” Kara said, guiding Alex through a conservative doorway. They passed through a hall (the ticket taker genially waving Kara and Alex past the counter after collecting their bags and jackets) and entered a massive ballroom. There was a live band set up on the stage, with the conductor taking requests and seamlessly transitioning the songs from one genre to another. Pop, waltz, lindy hop, rock, foxtrot, they could play everything. The room was full, but not packed.

“Well?” Kara asked.

Alex grabbed Kara’s hand and tugged her onto the dance floor. “You’d better be able to keep up!”

 

They got back to the farm very late. Very, very late. They’d danced for hours, and then Alex fell asleep on the drive home, her hand tucked into Kara’s and Kara’s jacket carefully placed under her head as a pillow.

Alex started stirring when Kara pulled into the driveway. She was mostly awake by the time they parked and gratefully accepted Kara’s help down from the cab. They were headed towards the house when Kara hooked her fingers on her belt and looked just past Alex’s eyes.

“Um, I was wondering if you would . . .” Kara petered off.

“Yeah?” Alex asked, stepping closer and wondering what had Kara so worried. She’d just had the best Valentine’s Day ever and would probably do anything Kara asked, up to and including murder.

“Would you like to go flying with me?”

“Flying?” Alex wrinkled her forehead.

“Yeah, flying.” Kara waved her hand in a swooping motion. “I could carry you.”

Alex blinked. Flying? Like on Kara’s back high above the world, free from everything?

“Let me change first?” Alex asked, gesturing to her dress. “I think this would be a bit cold.”

Kara continued. “I promise I won’t drop you and we don’t have to be up very long, I just wanted to show you my favorite views . . . wait, what?”

“I’d like to change first. Into something more flexible and a little warmer.” Alex repeated.

“Oh. Oh! You’re willing to come!”

“Kara, I would go anywhere with you. Do anything.”

Kara opened her mouth, closed it, opened it again, and settled for beaming and kissing Alex instead of talking.

It was just moments before Alex was bundled up warmly and Kara was back in her typical jeans and flannel. They stood in the back yard. Kara carefully rotated Alex so she was standing with her back to Kara. “Okay, step back a bit onto my feet.”

Alex shuffled backwards, perching on Kara’s toes. Kara wrapped her arms around Alex’s waist, pressing up against Alex’s back. She leaned forward to speak in Alex’s ear. “Trust me.”

Alex nodded. “Always.”

Slowly and smoothly Kara lifted them both up until they were floating several hundred feet in the air, with the farm and the town spread out below them. Kara leaned forward to whisper in Alex’s ear, pointing out various landmarks that looked very different from this perspective.

Alex stared in wonder at the ground, then looked up at the night sky. They could see more stars here than in town or even Kara’s farm, and it was breathtaking. Alex shifted in Kara’s arms, wriggling until they were facing each other and she could wrap her arms around Kara’s neck.

“You are so wonderful.” Alex said, stopping to peck Kara’s lips. “And so kind and gentle even though you have seen the worst of everything.” She stopped talking again to kiss Kara again. “I love you more than anyone or anything and I am going to tell you that everyday.”

Kara looked into Alex’s eyes and replied. <<I love you more than the stars in the sky.>>

  
They hovered, wrapped in each other’s arms, trading kisses and words of affection, until Sol began to lighten the night.


	18. With Friends Like These

Monday morning, Kara got a call.

“This is Star Tech calling to inform you that your order is here,” Winn said in his most professional voice. “You can pick it up at the store between the hours of 8 and 5. Please bring photo ID. Thank you for your patronage.”

Kara laughed. “Hey, Winn. I’ll be over in like half an hour.”

“Great. I’ll see you soon.”

“Yeah. Oh! Want me to bring a computer over? You forgot to grab one last week.”

Winn gasped. “Kara! Not on the phone! But yes, please.”

“Kay. Be there in a bit.”

Kara tucked her phone back into her pocket and trotted down the basement stairs. She stepped in front of the door and paused while she was scanned. A beep and a click later and she was opening the door. The room was long and wide and filled with a low humming. Electronics and crystals were scattered across tables and desks, and several servers were tucked into the corner. The air was several degrees cooler than upstairs and smelled faintly of ozone. At the far left of the room, there was an empty platform and two oblong pods.

As Kara entered, a stilted voice spoke up. <<Welcome, Kara Zor-El.>>

<<Hey Kryptos.>> Kara replied. <<How are the scans going?>>

<<I am 56.43% complete with my scans of the area called Kansas.>>

Kara dug around the nearest desk. <<Well, it should go faster soon; I’m about to pick up some more processors.>>

<<I have instructions for the building of calculating crystals. Your last attempt was 73% successful.>>

Kara sighed. <<And how many more attempts will it take to get it right? Those elements are a lot harder to get a hold of on Earth than they were on Krypton.>>

<<I have adjusted the instructions to compensate for the differences in atmosphere and climate. I estimate your next attempt will be 78.5% successful.>>

Kara gave a short <<Ha!>> and held up a laptop. <<Perhaps in a couple of months. I want to keep a low profile. This last processing purchase set off some alerts.>>

<<Very well, Kara Zor-El. I will continue to scan and analyze.>>

<<Thanks, Kryptos.>> Kara paused at the door. <<Did you scan Alex when I added her to the system?>>

<<Of course, Kara Zor-El.>> If a robot could sound offended, Kryptos did.

Kara chuckled. <<Of course. Right. What was your analysis?>>

There was a pause. <<Dr. Alexandra Danvers is a 27-year-old human female. She is in good physical health except for some small damage to her liver. It would heal quickly if she were to cut down her alcohol consumption. Her blood type is A+. She has skeletal scarring on her right radius and ulna indicative of a break, estimated at some 12 years ago. She has an average number of scars in her epidermis and dermis. While sparring with you, her heart rate increased 50%, her pupils dilated seven times not related to changes in light, which is one sign of physical attraction . . . .>>

<<Okay!>> Kara interrupted. <<Thank you, Kryptos.>>

 

Kara stepped into the (as usual) empty shop with the laptop under her arm. She shook her head at the store. It was a wonder Winn stayed in business at all. Replacing routers at the diner could only pay for so much. She’d asked before (once she was sure he wouldn’t take offense at her nosing into his finances) but he’d refused to tell her, beyond saying that it wasn’t illegal. At least, most of it.

She made her way to the back and thumped the laptop down on the desk. “If anyone asks, I brought it in to get the graphics card replaced.”

Winn looked up and quirked an eyebrow. “Wasn’t that what we said last time?”

Kara frowned. “Oh yeah. Uh, Bothgar decided to chew on it and it stopped working and I couldn’t figure out why?”

Winn pulled the laptop towards him. “That should do it. I’ll give you an estimate of four to five business days and $300.”

“Pay me back at poker night?”

“Perfect.” Winn began plugging the laptop into a convoluted configuration of other screens, towers, and random electronics.

Kara settled down on the desk, cross-legged. “I didn’t see you at the fair at all on Saturday. Where were you hiding?”

Winn spoke through a mouthful of wires. “I wasn’t there. It was visiting day.”

“Ohh.” Kara cocked her head and gently punched Winn in the arm. “How’s he doing?”

Winn shrugged. “Fine. How was the fair?”

Kara floated up and back, spreading her arms and doing a somersault in midair. “It was amaaaaaaazing.”

She popped her head up to look at Winn, still upside down. “Your display in the maze was super awesome! Best one there, even Alex thought so.”

Winn preened. “Thank you. Now tell me everything. Did you make out with your girl in the maze or at the top of the Ferris Wheel? Did she give you a victory kiss when you won the Pumpkin Chunkin’?”

“She’s not my girl!” Kara protested. “Besides, I left the making out to Lucy and Vasquez.”

Winn winced. “Please tell me it was not as bad as the bleacher incident.”

“No, not nearly that bad. I think Vasquez is a good influence on her.”

“I like her,” Winn stated, crawling under the desk to arrange a few more wires. “But, really, what all did you do at the fair?”

“Well, there was Pumpkin Chunkin’ in the morning, of course. Alex came and watched the whole thing! She cheered extra loud too and was really interested in how my machine worked. She’s so smart, Winn, and so nice. Bothgar really likes her; she held his leash nearly the whole day and he didn’t protest once! He even growled when that guy punched her.”

Winn jerked upright, hitting his head on the underside of the desk. “Ow! What do you mean a guy punched her?!”

“To be fair, she punched him first.”

“Kara Zor-El Stone, you had better explain right now!” Winn shook a screwdriver at her.

“Well, I had to go deal with Caleb, so Alex waited for me in the beer tent. I met her there and we were having a drink when some guy starts hitting on us. Anyway, he made the usual “teenage mom” insinuations about how easy I must be and Alex kind of . . . got protective? And punched him. And he punched back and Bothgar growled, and wanted to attack, but didn’t, because he’s a good boy who waits for my commands, and then I held Alex back while the bartender dealt with the other guy and we left.”

“Alex punched a guy because he insinuated you were easy?”

Kara nodded, zoning out a little. “And she said such wonderful things and wanted to protect me and made sure I was okay, even though I wasn’t the one in the fight.”

Winn shook his head, a smile on his face. “Oh, you’ve got it bad, girl.”

 

-

 

The ER was hectic, but not overly so. Alex split her time between surgery and administrative duties. Dr. Griffin was finalizing her transfer that week and the hospital board was being snippy about changing control over to Alex, even though they were the ones who had hired her.

While muttering a few choice curses at the latest email from the board Alex was interrupted by a low chuckle from her door. She looked up to see Abby leaning against the doorway.

“That is one part of the job I am happy to be leaving,” Abby said. “Though I’m sure the clinic will provide plenty of opportunities to curse bureaucracy.”

Alex slumped back. “They hired me, you’d think they’d have a little more trust in my abilities.”

“They also all grew up in a small town and hate change.”

“Ha. I’ll show them change.” Alex glared mulishly at her computer.

Abby chuckled again. “On a happier note, would you like to have dinner with me tonight? Well, me and Raven and Clarke.”

“Um.” Alex looked over, her brow furrowed. “What?”

“Would you like to join us for dinner tonight? As friends, not work related at all. We have a moratorium on shop talk that can’t be understood by a six-year-old. Though, you’d be surprised at what she can understand.” Abby looked pensive, contemplating the idiosyncrasies of young children before continuing. “It’s late notice, I know, but Raven’s cooking, so it’ll be quite delicious. Even my daughter admits I can’t cook.”

Alex blinked. “Uh, sure. Thank you.”

“Great!” Abby stepped forward and scribbled her address on a scrap of paper. “Come by anytime after work. We usually eat about 6:30.”

 

Alex drove up to Dr. Griffin’s house just after six. It was a good sized house, a small two-story. The front was well kept and clean, except for the dismantled car half-way out of the garage. Alex knocked on the door, stepping back slightly. There was a pitter-patter of feet and the door was yanked open by Clarke, with Raven right behind.

Clarke stared at Alex for a short moment, before dashing back into the house.

Raven smiled. “Hey, Dr. Danvers. Come on in.”

“Call me Alex?” Alex thrust out the bottle of wine she was carrying. “For the cook.”

“Thank you!” Raven waved Alex into the house. “Dinner is just about ready.”

 

Dinner was mostly taken up with conversing with Clarke. After a while, she warmed up to Alex and was insistent on knowing everything about her. She was disappointed Alex didn’t have a kid for her to play with but consoled herself by regaling Alex with stories of all her friends at school. It wasn’t until after dinner, and after Clarke was put to bed, and they were all sitting down with a glass of wine that the adults got a proper conversation.

Relaxing into Abby’s arms, Raven propped her leg up on the ottoman and eyed Alex with a determined stared. “So. Alex. What are your hobbies?”

Alex shrugged and took a gulp of her wine. “I don’t really have any hobbies. No time.”

Abby laughed. “Oh, I remember that feeling. I did nothing but study all the way through med school and my residency and the first few years of my practice. And then Clarke was born and all of my spare time was spent with her. It took Raven to get me to take care of myself again.”

The two women shared a sappy look before turning back to Alex.

“Well, now’s a good time to pick some hobbies up,” Raven said. “Nothing happens here, so you might as well spend the time doing stuff you like.”

Abby smacked Raven gently. “You’ve just jinxed it. Besides, weren’t you just talking about those crop circles? That’s something.”

“Are you interested in aliens?” Raven asked Alex, eagerly. “I’ve got some theories about the meteor shower and the uptick in magnetic field energy around the town.”

Alex shook her head. “Not really into aliens, sorry. Though I do like star gazing.”

“Star gazing or ‘star gazing’?” Raven waggled her eyebrows.

Both Alex and Abby chuckled at Raven’s salacious insinuation.

“The first,” Alex clarified. “Though I wouldn’t say no to the second.”

Raven crowed. “Excellent! There’s one hobby. Now, what else did you enjoy doing before med school got in the way?”

“Surfing,” Alex replied instantly. “I loved to surf.”

Raven raised an eyebrow. “And you moved to Kansas?”

Alex took another large gulp of wine and refilled her glass. “Yep.”

“Okay.” Raven let it slide. “How about things that you enjoyed that you can do here?”

Alex sat back and thought. “I used to bike all over the place when I was a kid. Down to the beach to go surfing or the pier or the movies or my friend’s house or around town just because. Not really sure what happened to my bike. Probably still rusting in my parent’s garage.”

“You should bike with Abby! I can’t go, ‘cause of my leg, and she needs a biking buddy.”

“There are some great trails around here,” Abby agreed. “Won’t be able to bike for much longer, with the weather, but it would be nice to have someone to ride with.”

Alex nodded. “Yeah, that could be fun.”

Getting slightly uncomfortable with the focus on her, Alex turned the conversation towards Raven. “I was kind of surprised you didn’t compete in the Pumpkin Chunkin’ contest. Isn’t that sort of your thing?”

“Eh, they wouldn’t let me use rockets,” Raven said. “Or even compressed air. Besides, your girl always wins. I like to compete in things where I have a chance.”

“It’s really just because she doesn’t like to get up that early.” Abby mock-whispered to Alex.

Alex chuckled and the conversation and wine flowed freely from there.

 

-

 

Kara curled up on the couch with Bothgar, staring at the fire, and wished that Alex were at the other end of the couch. It got lonely sometimes, with just Clark. Sure, her friends were great, but the few evenings she’d shared with Alex had been so comfortable! It'd just felt right. Natural, even.

Almost as if wishing made it so, her phone buzzed with a text from Alex.

Dr. Alex <3:  _ Do Abby and Raven live together? Are they married? Or are they just super close? _

Dr. Alex <3:  _ Was that an inappropriate question? _

_ Are you joining the gossip chain? What brought this on? _

Dr. Alex <3:  _ I had dinner with Abby tonight. Raven was there and there was a dismantled car in the garage. _

_ They live together. Have since Raven got back from college. Not married, but basically are. _

Dr. Alex <3: _ Oh. _

Dr. Alex <3:  _ Cool. _

Dr. Alex <3:  _ That must be nice. _

Dr. Alex <3:  _ I miss Maggie. _

Kara cocked her head and listened to Alex’s vital signs. They didn’t sound quite normal.  _ Are you drunk? _

Dr. Alex <3:  _ Just a little buzzed. And tired. Makes me lose my filter. _

Dr. Alex <3:  _ Like at the fair. _

_ How was dinner? _

Dr. Alex <3:  _ Good! _

Dr. Alex <3:  _ We talked about hobbies. _

Dr. Alex <3:  _ They think I should pick up a couple since I’ll have more time here. _

Dr. Alex <3:  _ Like biking. _

Dr. Alex <3:  _ I like biking. It’s almost as freeing as surfing. _

Dr. Alex <3: _ I used to do competitive shooting too. _

Dr. Alex <3:  _ That would be fun to do some more. _

_ There are several shooting ranges around here. _

Dr. Alex <3:  _ I really miss Maggie. _

_ Uh, Maggie who lied to you and said you were a bad person and bad girlfriend and generally was mean and nasty? _

Dr. Alex <3:  _ I’m going to call her. _

Kara panicked and fumbled with her phone. Lucy had made her promise (after one particularly memorable night) never to let a friend drunk dial an ex. Lucy had been very adamant. Scarily so. Kara frantically dialed, peering through the night to Alex’s house.

Alex jumped when the phone rang in her hands.  _ “ ‘Lo?” _

“Alex, please don’t do that! Don’t call her! You deserve so much more!”

Even through the haze of alcohol, Alex could hear the distress in Kara’s voice.

_ “Hey, no, don’t be sad. I don’t like it when you’re sad.” _

“Don’t call her.” If Kara had thought she could get away with it, she would have flown over there and confiscated Alex’s phone.

Alex fixated on the lack of cheer in Kara’s voice.  _ “Why are you sad? Who made you sad?” _

“No one made me sad,” Kara said, relaxing a little. If she was on the phone with Alex, Alex wasn’t drunk dialing anyone.

_ “But you were sad! I could hear it!” _

“How can I be sad when I’m talking to you?”

Alex frowned, a cute little furrow appearing between her eyebrows that Kara just wanted to smooth away.  _ “That doesn’t make sense.” _

“It will make more sense tomorrow,” Kara promised.

_ “Yeaaaaaah." _ Alex drew out the word before perking up.  _ "And if I go to bed now, tomorrow will come sooner!” _

“Yep! You should totally drink a big glass of water and go to bed. I’ll do it too.”

_ “But I can’t go to bed while you’re sad!” _ Alex protested.  _ “I want you to feel better! What can I do?” _

“Well,” Kara considered. Letting Alex help her in some way would help Alex feel better. And if she was helping Alex, it wasn’t really a bad indulgence, right? “Could you stay on the line while we both get ready for bed? And maybe until I fall asleep? It gets kind of lonely sometimes.”

_ “Okay.” _ Alex obliged, stumbling up out of bed to get changed.  _ “Pet Bothgar for me and tell him he needs to cuddle you lots so you don’t get lonely.” _

“He misses you, but I will give him lots of pets.”

Kara listened as Alex changed and brushed her teeth and drank a large glass of water.

_ “Are you in bed?”  _ Alex asked as she slid into her own.

“Yeah,” Kara replied. “And Bothgar is here too.”

She held the phone out to Bothgar and he woofed sleepily.

Alex’s face brightened.  _ “Hey Bothgar! Take care of Kara for me, huh?” _

They said their goodnights but stayed on the line. Kara slowly turned off her x-ray vision but continued to listen as Alex’s breathing evened out. Once she was sure Alex was asleep, Kara hung up the phone. She reached down to pet Bothgar one more time before letting Alex’s heartbeat lull her to sleep.


	19. Doctor in the House

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Full disclaimer: I got all my medical information from the interwebs, so take it all with a grain of salt. I am not a doctor.

“We’ve got an ambulance coming in!” The dispatcher called out as Alex came down the hall. “14-year-old boy, fell out of a tree, was unconscious at the scene. Needs rocks pulled out of his arm and probably some stitches from where he landed on something sharp. No obvious broken bones, but the EMTs recommend an x-ray. Regained consciousness in the ambulance, expected concussion.”

Alex waved in acknowledgment. “Prep surgery two. I’ll do the stitches and stabilize him, then take him in for x-rays.”

Alex methodically went through her surgery preparation. Sure, it was just using a pair of tweezers and doing up some stitches, but the routine calmed her and made sure she did her best. She entered the surgery room just after the stretcher and the EMTs. She took one glance at the boy on the stretcher and turned to a nurse.

“Go call Kara.”

“What?”

“Go call Kara Stone and tell her that Clark will be fine, but she should get to the hospital as soon as she can.” At the nurse’s hesitant look, Alex glared. “The next time I see you, you had better be able to tell me that Kara is on her way.”

 

-

 

Kara didn’t recognize the number on her phone but answered anyway.

“Ms. Stone? This is Kristy at Wilson Medical Center. Your son Clark was just admitted. He’s going to be . . .” her voice faded out as Kara dropped the phone.

Kara was in the air and halfway to the hospital before she stopped herself. Human. I have to be human. And humans can’t go 30 miles in less than a minute. She reluctantly turned back to her house and sped into the garage, gunning Gertrude’s engine.

 

-

 

Alex smiled at Clark as the EMTs arranged him on the bed and bustled out of the door.

“Hey, kiddo. I hear you fell out of a tree.”

Clark looked over as she collected a tray of sterilized tools and gloved up. “Yeah. I climbed up higher than Jimmy, though!”

“I see.” Alex adjusted the light so it shone on the cut. “You’ve got some rocks still stuck in here, so I’m going to pull them out before I stitch you up.”

“Okay,” Clark winced slightly as he shifted in the bed.

“Do you know if you’re allergic to any medications? Painkillers specifically?”

“Not allergic, but painkillers don’t really work on me.”

“Don’t work as in they don’t do anything, or are they just less effective?”

“Less effective, I think.” Clark lifted the shoulder Alex wasn’t working on. “I haven’t had them very often, so I don’t know.”

“Okay, I’m going to give you a dose and you let me know if you can still feel it, all right?”

Clark nodded and looked on in fascination as she injected him with a local anesthetic. She gave it a moment, then picked up the tweezers and began pulling pieces of rock out of the gash in his upper arm. They were a mix of regular gravel and an odd glowing green crystal.

“Hey, can I keep that?” Clark asked, nodding to the pile of rocks in the tray. “They’re kind of cool looking.”

“Uh, sure,” Alex replied.

They were interrupted with a nurse knocking on the door and stepping inside. “Dr. Danvers?”

Alex fixed Kristy with a glare. “Is Kara on her way?”

The nurse twitched and shifted back half a step. “I’m not sure. I called her, but I think she dropped the phone. She’s not answering anymore.”

Alex glared for half a moment more before turned back to Clark. “Make sure she is brought in here as soon as she arrives.”

“Yes, Dr. Danvers!” The nurse squeaked out before fleeing to safety.

Alex turned back to her job. She was almost done with cleaning the wound when Clark failed to hide a wince. She stopped abruptly.

“Did the painkillers not work?”

“They did for a while,” Clark said. “But I think they’re wearing off.”

“Do you want another shot?”

Clark nodded, ducking his head.

“Hey, there’s nothing wrong with needing a painkiller,” Alex said, swiftly preparing another dose. “You should do all you can to heal quickly and healthily.” She injected another shot, noting that it was harder to get in than the last time.

Once all the rocks were out, Alex wiped it all down with a damp gauze and applied an antibiotic cream. “When was the last time you got a tetanus shot?”

“Uh, I don’t know. Kara would.”

“Okay. If it was within the past five years or so, you won’t need a booster, but I'll double check with Kara when she gets here.”

Alex eyed the wound. It wasn’t as bad it had looked before she pulled the rock out. If she squinted, she could swear she could see it healing in front of her. She switched out her suture for a lighter one and did up the stitches as quickly as she could.

“Almost done,” Alex promised. “And then we’ll give you a quick x-ray, to make sure you didn’t break anything.”

 

-

 

Kara shuffled through the doors of the emergency room. She could hear Clark, knew he was alive and fine and distracting himself from the pain by talking to Alex about all the different machines and procedures and what color his bandages were going to be, but Kara was berating herself for not listening closer to Clark. She’d eased off the aural monitoring as he grew older, no longer listening to his every heartbeat and breath, both because it was unnecessary the more comfortable they became in human society and to give him some privacy.

A nurse hurried up to her. “Kara Stone?”

“Yes? That’s me.”

The nurse heaved a sigh. “Oh thank the saints. I’m to take you straight to Clark.”

Kara hesitantly fell into step beside Kristy. “How, how is he?”

“He’s fine. A bit scratched up and had a concussion, but Dr. Danvers is taking good care of him. He’s just getting out of radiology; she wanted to make sure nothing was broken.”

The nurse opened the recovery room door for Kara and hastily backed away.

Kara stepped in, focusing on Clark, who was being helped from a wheelchair to a recovery bed.

<<Kara!>>

<<Hey, Clark. You okay?>>

<<I’m fine, Kara, I’m fine. We’ll go home and get rid of the Kryptonite and I’ll heal right up.>>

<<But you’re hurt!>>

<<This is good! It makes me look more human. Besides, if Jimmy can handle a cut or two, so can I.>>

Kara just stared, paralyzed. Her baby was hurt and she hadn't done anything. Couldn't do anything.

<<Look, Kara, it’s fine. And I kept the Kryptonite close so that the doctors wouldn’t suspect anything. And I got out of physics!>>

 

-

 

Alex struggled to decide whether to leave the room and let them talk or to stay and make sure they were all right. She made her decision when Kara began to tremble. Alex moved over and gently took Kara’s hands in hers.

“Clark, excuse us for a minute.”

Alex guided Kara out of the room and down the hall to an empty break room.

As soon as they were alone, Kara started pacing furiously through the room, knocking chairs and tables out of her way as if they were wisps of fog.

“I should have been there, I should have done something!”

“Hey, hey, hey.” Alex reached out and grabbed Kara’s shoulders, stopping her in her tracks. “It’s not your fault.”

“He’s my responsibility, I was told to take care of him,  _ that is my job! _ ” Kara’s fingers traced the ‘S’ engraved on her belt buckle over and over again.

“I’m supposed to take care of him! I promised them!” Kara’s eyes pleaded Alex to understand.

“Your parents?”

Kara nodded. “And my aunt and uncle. They sent us away when Ka-Clark was just a baby. They didn’t have the time or resources to evacuate everyone, so they sent Clark away, and me to take care of him.”

Alex decided to set aside, for now, the questions of what sort of evacuation left children on their own and how Kara had raised a child at 13 without help.

“Kara, everyone gets hurt sometimes. It’s part of being alive. Getting hurt teaches us. It teaches us how to deal with pain and loss. It reminds us that we’re not invincible. We can learn so much, even when it’s no one’s fault. Especially when it’s no one’s fault. This was just an accident. He’ll heal. He probably won’t even scar badly. He’s fine. He handled the pain wonderfully, didn’t freak out at the needle or anything. You didn’t fail your parents or break your promise. You are doing a wonderful job of taking care of him. Okay?”

Alex rubbed her hands up and down Kara’s arms as she spoke. Kara bit her lip and muttered to herself. “Right. Pain is life. Pain teaches. I know pain teaches, oh how I know it.”

She looked up at Alex. “It’s hard to hear him hurting.”

Alex smiled and squeezed Kara’s hands. “It’s because you love him so much, and that is not a bad thing.”

Kara nodded.

There was a calming pause before Kara cleared her throat. “Uh, what, what happened?”

“He was climbing a tree and fell. Got higher up the tree than Jimmy first, though.”

Kara gave a sound that was half laugh, half sob.

Alex leaned forward and enveloped Kara in a hug. She didn’t know what to say. Bedside manner had never really been her thing. There was a reason she was a surgeon and worked in the ER. With Kara, though, she wanted to say the right thing but just couldn’t find the words.

Instead, she squeezed as tight as she could, pressing her hands flat against Kara’s back. Kara tucked her face into Alex’s neck and breathed in, deeply. Alex responded by pressing her face into Kara’s hair, trying to say with her touch all the things she couldn’t actually verbalize.

 

-

 

After dinner, Kara put Clark to bed, determined to follow the doctor’s orders, even if he’d healed quickly after emptying his pockets of the Kryptonite. Kryptos had even confirmed that he was nearly 100%. Nearly wasn’t good enough for Kara, though, so she sent him to bed and told him he was getting an extra hour of sunbathing in the morning. And to remember to act hurt at school.

Curled up on the couch with Bothgar, Kara stared at the fire and sunk into the memory of her planet burning and collapsing. Flashbacks of the panic, then urgent quiet of her parents rushing her to the pod, screaming as the pod flew away and the planet exploded behind her. Pounding her fists against the walls and dashboard of the pod, trying to go back. Sobbing when she realized she was all alone . . .

An unexpected knock had her hovering in the air, fists clenched. She forced herself to relax back onto the couch, cocking her head and peering through the door.

Alex was outside, holding a bag.

Kara went to the door and opened it.

Alex rubbed her neck. “Hey. I hope it isn’t too late. I wanted to come by and see how you and Clark were doing.”

Kara waved Alex in and gestured upstairs with a meaningful expression.

“Clark’s in bed?”

Kara nodded.

“Good, good.” Alex gave Bothgar the attention he was so clearly wanting. “And how are you?”

Kara shrugged.

Alex smiled sympathetically. “I brought ice cream.” She pulled two pints out her bag and passed one to Kara. “We could share?”

Kara nodded gratefully and lightly pulled Alex over to the couch. They settled down side by side, with Bothgar at their feet. They ate in silence, staring at the fire and occasionally switching flavors. When the ice cream was finished, Kara got up to throw the cartons away and stick the spoons in the dishwasher. She came back to the couch and hesitated.

Alex looked up, quirking an eyebrow in question. Kara carefully sat down next to Alex, then pivoted, swinging her legs over Alex’s lap. She didn’t dare look at Alex’s face to see the rejection, but Alex hadn’t pushed her away yet, so maybe?

Kara felt an arm snake around her back and pull her close, shifting their positions until Kara was curled up on Alex’s lap. Kara sighed and relaxed, resting her head on Alex’s chest to focus on Alex’s heartbeat. Alex’s hand slid down and cradled her hip, the other running up and down her thigh.

They stayed there as the fire burned down and Kara began to drift off, the pleasant feeling of lips against her forehead winding its way into dreams of comfort and companionship.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fluffy enough for you yet?  
> Hope this makes up a little bit for the angst in my other Kalex fic.  
> (Shameless self-promotion: my fic [Who Wants to Live Forever?](http://archiveofourown.org/works/9281435/chapters/21034424), updates Tuesdays and actually has a plot.)


	20. The Aftermath

Alex woke to something wet nudging her hand. She blinked. It was dark in the room, but she recognized where she was. She was stretched out on her back on the couch, with Kara sprawled on top of her. Alex’s arm was protectively around Kara’s waist and their legs were intertwined. Kara’s face was tucked into her neck, and her hands were twisted in her shirt. From what Alex could see of Kara’s expression, Kara’s depression from the night before had mostly eased.

The wet something nudged her hand again, and he turned her head to see Bothgar nosing at her.

“Hey, buddy.” She whispered and rubbed behind his ears where he liked it.

He nosed her hand again and she lifted her hand to glance at her watch. “Oh, it’s time to get up, isn’t it. I’m sure there are lots of chores to be done, and Clark shouldn’t do any of the heavy stuff. Not after that concussion, and with his arm.”

Bothgar woofed slightly and flopped down next to the couch, his head where Alex could keep petting him.

“I see how it is, you’re just using me for pets. But thank you for waking me.”

Alex began rubbing Kara’s back with her other hand. “Hey, Kara. Time to get up, honey.”

Kara grumbled a little in her sleep and nosed a little deeper into Alex’s neck.

“Come on, Kara. If we don’t get up now we’ll be late.”

Kara grumbled a little more, directly into Alex’s collarbone.

Alex chuckled. “Yeah, you work from home, but I’m guessing the cows have a regular milking schedule and all the animals a feeding schedule, and Clark has school and I have work.”

Kara groaned and pushed herself up, blearily opening her eyes.

She froze when she focused on what was in front of her: a bed-tousled Alex Danvers, not three inches from the end of her nose. As she woke up, she noticed other things, the warmth where they were touching from stomach to toes, the press of Alex’s hand that was still running gently up and down her spine, the particular undefinable color that was Alex’s eyes.

Alex smiled. “Good morning.”

Kara looked around. “We fell asleep on the couch?”

“Yeah.”

“What time is it?”

“Four. Bothgar woke me.”

Kara reached blindly out to the side and patted in Bothgar’s general direction. “That’s a good doggy.”

They both shifted and squirmed until they were sitting upright on the couch. Alex leaned over and knocked her shoulder into Kara. “Do you want help with the morning chores?”

Kara thought. Clark wouldn’t be helping today, but they didn’t have that many animals; she could probably get it done, even without using her superspeed.

“No, I think I’ve got it. You could catch some more sleep if you want.”

“Nah, I’m up now.” Alex yawned prodigiously. “But, if I could borrow some workout clothes again, I wouldn’t mind hitting the gym.”

“Sure.” Kara stood up and stretched, then reached a hand down to pull Alex up. “There’s the pair you used the other day in the guest room.”

“Thanks. When does Clark need to be up?”

“About six. The bus comes just after seven.” Kara scrunched her nose. “I  _ think _ he set an alarm last night.”

“Okay.” Alex headed up the stairs to change, while Kara and Bothgar went out the back to the barn.

 

After Alex had an excellent workout (seriously, Kara’s gym was divine, even if the security system was a bit odd), it was nearing six o’clock. She took a quick shower in the guest room, throwing her clothes from the night before. Glancing at her watch, it was after six and she hadn’t heard from Clark yet. Alex jogged up the stairs to the two attic rooms and banged on the door with an engraved wood plaque. An unintelligible mumble came from behind the door.

Alex chuckled, remembering her mornings as a teenager. “Rise and shine, Clark! The bus comes in an hour and I want to double check your concussion before you leave.”

She waited until she heard him stumbling out of bed before heading to the kitchen. With a little detective work, Alex managed to find the pancake recipe she and Kara had made that weekend. She rolled up her sleeves and glared at the recipe firmly. “Let’s do this.”

 

By the time Clark came down from his bedroom and Kara came in from milking, Alex had two large stacks (and one much smaller stack) of very passable round pancakes. She’d tasted one herself while cooking and had beamed proudly when it tasted just fine.

Before she let Clark eat, Alex did a quick check of his head and eye response. He rolled his eyes, but, with a stern look from Kara, cooperated. As soon as Alex proclaimed him good (and reminded him to go easy on his arm), Clark dove into the stack of pancakes. They ate quickly and cleaned up together.

With a disappointed sigh, Alex looked at the clock. “I’ve got to head home and change.”

“I’ll walk you out.” Kara offered.

Outside, next to Alex’s car, Kara leaned forward and gave Alex a hug. Kara brushed her lips ever so lightly over Alex’s cheek before thinking better of it and focusing on the hug.

“Thanks for coming over. It really helped last night.”

Alex smiled again, a soft smile. “Anytime, Kara.”

As soon as Kara got back inside, Clark sidled up with a sly grin.

<<So, Alex spent the night?>>

Kara sputtered. <<Not like that! She came over and we just fell asleep on the couch.>>

Clark gave her a look.

<<That’s all!>> Kara protested.

<<I believe you.>> Clark’s expression indicated that he did not, in fact, believe Kara, but was willing to let it go for the sake of a peaceful household.

 

\---

 

Alex flicked through her contacts on her way out of work. If she called now, she would have an excuse to hang up once she got to Kara’s. She got herself settled in the car, plugged in her phone and dialed.

 

. . .

“Hey, Mom.”

. . .

“I don’t have much time to chat; I just got off work and I’m on my way to a friend’s for dinner.”

. . .

“I’m calling to ask you to send the rest of my boxes. I’ll pay for it. I’ll even get movers to show up.”

. . .

“No, I can’t come out and pack it up, I can’t take the time off work.”

. . .

“I just got hired. I have literally one hour of vacation time available.”

. . .

“Thank you.”

. . .

“Uh, yeah, you can arrange it and I’ll pay you back.”

. . .

“Yes, I’ll send you my new address.”

. . .

“All of my stuff that’s left in my old room, the boxes in the attic I marked, and my stuff in the garage.”

. . .

“Um, my surfing equipment is still in the garage, isn’t it?”

. . .

“You sold my surfboard?!?”

. . .

“I won four trophies with that board!”

. . .

“Yeah, okay, whatever. Just send what you have.”

. . .

“I’m here, Mom, I need to go.”

. . .

“Sure, I’ll call you later.”

. . .

“Bye.”

 

Alex hung up the phone and stepped out of the car. Kara was sitting on the front porch, swaying in the porch swing, boots propped up on the railing, chatting on the phone. She glanced over at Alex and her face brightened. She waved Alex over.

Alex thumped down into the porch swing next to Kara, pressing up against her shoulder and sending the swing rocking.

Kara smiled and mouthed “give me a minute”.

Alex nodded and relaxed back into the cushions. It was always nice to sit down after a long day at the hospital. As she rocked gently she gradually focused in on Kara’s conversation.

“Tell Megan I said hi.”

. . .

“You’re coming for Thanksgiving, right?”

. . .

“Okay, good, I’ll see you then.”

. . .

“Love you, be safe!”

Alex idly wondered who Kara was talking to. Not that it was really her business, but it sounded like Kara really cared for the person on the other end of the line and vice versa. That was good. Kara deserved people who cared for her.

Alex was pulled out of her thoughts when Kara nudged her shoulder. “You coming in?”

Alex looked up. “Yeah, sorry. Just zoned out.”

“Long day at work?” Kara held the door for Alex.

“No longer than usual, but I called my mom on the way here. That tends to be a bit draining.”

“Oh.” Kara fidgeted, and Alex could tell she wanted to ask more, but was restraining out of politeness.

“We don’t really get along,” Alex explained. “Haven’t since I was a kid. And we had kind of a big fight before I moved out here. Partly because I was moving out here.”

Alex shook her head. “What am I saying, you probably miss your mother horribly.”

“I do,” Kara said slowly. “But I was also mad at my mother for a long time. That she sent me away. To take care of Clark. I was only 13 and very afraid.”

Kara paused, and Alex shifted a little closer, softly brushing her hand against Kara’s in support.

Kara closed her eyes with her next admission. “And I keep hoping she made it out. Or my dad, or anyone, really. They could have. There were other . . . escape routes. Maybe we just missed each other while traveling. Then sometimes I wonder what it would have been like to not escape. Or if something else had changed.”

Alex squeezed Kara’s hand and Kara opened her eyes, making a visible effort to dispel the memories.

Alex stared into Kara's eyes, trying to convey her earnestness. "I'm really glad you survived. I'm really glad I know you."

Kara pulled Alex into a hug and spoke into Alex's hair. “I am too. What I have now? I don’t think I could bear to give it up. Not Clark, not John, not Winn, not Lucy, not you."


	21. Flashback; Four Weeks P.C.L.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, look! Another flashback! Also, I've shifted the order of the chapters a little. I really need to hurry up and finish this, so the Valentine's Day chapter can be put in the proper spot.

“Here, kid, $300, as promised.”

Kara stared at the crumpled bills in her hand. Cash was a new thing, to her, but she had quickly learned it controlled nearly everything on Earth.

She looked back up at Bill. “Thank you, sir.”

Bill grunted. “How many times do I have to tell you not to call me sir?”

Kara looked down. She was just trying to show respect for her employer and teacher, as she had been taught.

Bill sighed. “Be back on Monday.”

“Yes, sir, thank you!”

Kara hurried down the driveway and, as soon as she could, flew towards the large wilderness (it was called a ‘park’, according to the signs on the edges; she was very proud she’d managed to read it without any help from the AI). Thankfully, Kal was still asleep when she got there. She had managed to fly out a few times to check on him during the day, but there was only so much she and the AI in the pod could do to keep him entertained. She spent the rest of the evening and night playing with Kal and making a careful budget for her limited cash.

 

Kara watched the “thrift” store from a distance, bracing herself for the onslaught of sounds and smells. They’d already been to the food store and spent most of their money. The food store was nice. Organized. And if you went late enough at night, very empty. Food stores were called groceries, here, Kara reminded herself. The AI was absorbing everything it could about Earth, trying to update its databases, and would randomly spit pieces of information at Kara. Being stuck in the Phantom Zone meant nearly everything Kara had learned before arriving was out of date. At least she had learned the correct language, though it had taken a few days to figure out which of the many Earth languages was used in this area.

Kara clamped her hands over her ears and breathed deeply, running through the mental exercises from Torquasm Rao. The farm was nice, not too much noise there, and the smell of animals and vegetation reminded her of the gardens back home. The park where their pods were was much the same. In town, though, it was a fight to control her senses. She’d been practicing the mental side of Torquasm Rao a LOT.

Kal didn’t seem to mind the noises and smells. All their trips were much more fun for him than for Kara. He would babble happily at everything they passed, and coo at perfect strangers. He’d gotten very excited when an animal with horns came by the pods the night before and nearly flew out of Kara’s arms trying to pet it.

Kara took a deep breath and stepped forward. She could do this. She hoisted Kal onto her hip and handed him the teething toy she’d fashioned out of a piece of steel. He’d broken everything else she’d given him. She stepped through the doors and froze. It was so crowded. Not with people, for which Kara was grateful, but with racks and shelves piled high with more things than Kara could imagine.

And she recognized none of them.

The list in her hand crumpled and tore as she stared in fear.

It was several long minutes while Kal gnawed little teeth marks into the steel and Kara ran through every Torquasm Rao exercise in her head. Twice.

 

A tall, stern looking, black man walked up to her. “May I help you?” he asked, gruffly.

Kara focused on him, trying to remember English. He smelled different than other humans. It was nice. “Yes, please.” she finally stuttered.

“What are you looking for?”

Kara looked down at her list. “Uh, clothes. For . . .” she bounced Kal a little and nodded towards him. Was Kal a normal name here? She hadn’t heard anything like it yet. The AI had insisted she do all she could to fit in because this world didn’t know anything about other races yet.

The nodded, and waved his hand. “Follow me.”

He showed her to the section with clothes for children and even helped her pick out ones that would fit Kal, and a few for Kal to grow into. Then he helped her find her size of work boots and some sturdy pants (called “jeans” Kara learned) and a few shirts.

 

“Anything else?” he questioned, when Kara’s basket was stuffed full.

Kara consulted her list and quickly added up the prices of the things in her basket. “Maybe some toys? Or some learning tablets?”

He nodded, the semi-scowl still on his face and showed her a few shelves filled with archaic teaching tools. He even bent down and sought out one that had few words and lots of bright pictures of animals.

Kara knelt down to stare at it in awe. “You have so many animals here.”

The man twitched his mouth, as if he were about to smile.

Kara looked up at him in wonder. “Can I see these all in the wil . . . park?”

“Oh, no. At least, not many of them. Mostly deer and birds in the park. Cows and horses and whatnot on the farms. Those . . .” he pointed to the parrots flying across the page, “they live in warmer climates. Some varieties do live in the states, but most are in Central and South America.”

Kara furrowed her brow. “Where’s that?”

“South of here. Let me see.” He stepped to the next bookcase over and ran his fingers over the titles. “Here we go.”

He handed Kara a thick book. She looked at it confusedly. She was still having trouble with this new alphabet.

“It’s an atlas.” The man explained. “Has maps of the whole world. It’s a bit out of date, but only a few years.”

Kara’s face cleared. Oh! Maps! She knew maps. She liked to trace Aunt Astra’s journeys with her, every time she came home.

“Can you show me where we are?”

The man knelt down next to Kara and flipped open the book. “This is the world. We’re in North America, which is here. This is Central America, and this is South America” He turned to another page which had a map of North America. “This is the United States, and this is Kansas. Our city is just about here.”

Kara nodded. “Thank you. You are so very kind.”

He harrumphed and looked away.

Kara stood up and hesitantly held out her hand. This appeared to be the way humans greeted each other and said goodbye. The first time she had tried to greet the woman at the grocery store with a traditional Kryptonian greeting, she had been very firmly put in her place. Kindly, but firmly.

“I am called Kara.” she introduced herself.

The man clasped her hand and she squeezed as gently as she could.

“I’m John.” he replied.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to AuthorUnknown for helping me figure out J’onn’s roll in this fic!


	22. Questions and (some) Answers

Alex sat cross-legged in the middle of her living room and opened her notebook to a fresh page. She had questions. Lots of questions. And what does a scientist do with questions? They collect data and make a hypothesis. She started with a list of her observations.

 

  1. very athletic/strong: lifted a fridge by herself, standing jump of over five feet, lifts me like I weigh nothing, moving quicker than I’ve seen anyone move
  2. Raven called her my girl, as did Abby, which means they think she would be amiable to dating a girl. Other people have implied similar things.
  3. Clark heals quickly, and I’ve never seen Kara get hurt, despite using barbed wire without gloves. She also pulled a pan from the oven without hot pads and wasn’t burnt.
  4. Those green lights in the gym glow the same color as the green rocks that were in Clark.
  5. I’m pretty sure she kissed me on the forehead when she put me to bed after that bad day at work. Cuddles a lot. Like, a ton. And seems to appreciate me hugging and touching her.
  6. She got to the hospital really quickly that night too, and she wasn’t driving Gertrude. And her chores don’t always take the same amount of time.
  7. She flew my car off the road with her tractor. I would say slip of the tongue, but I can’t think what she was trying to say instead.
  8. Was evacuated from some event when she was 13 with Clark as a baby but didn’t go into foster care.
  9. Inhumanly nice. Took care of me, fixed my car, invites me to things, knows everyone in town, didn’t even care about those insults at the fair, feels like she needs to help people
  10. She watches me a lot. Pretty sure half of the time she’s checking me out. Especially when I’m working out. And that time after I got out of the shower.
  11. Sparring. I beat her because she was distracted by being on top of me.
  12. Smiles every time she sees me, laughs a lot at my sarcasm
  13. She feeds me and brought me a plant. A flower, even. Gift basket in my car, and the set up in the back of Gertrude during the Pumpkin Chunkin’. Brought me a fireplace set.
  14. The picnic at the pond and the fair felt a lot like a date.
  15. She’s really interested in what I do and my life and remembers what I say. Didn’t run off when I freaked out.
  16. Speaks a language I don’t recognize
  17. Eats a LOT.
  18. Lots of really sweet texts during the days, like, “thinking of you”, “Sleep tight, don’t let the bedbugs bite”, and “hope you have a wonderful day!”
  19. Put me in her security system. Which is really, really, advanced. I would almost guess more of an AI than a security system.
  20. Sensory overload can be a problem for her. Heavy glasses seem to help.



 

Alex stared at the list. It was a pretty comprehensive list and seemed to indicate that Kara would be up for a date, but didn’t really answer any of her other questions. Just added more, to be honest.

She was jerked from her contemplation with a loud knock on the door. Alex opened it to find a man holding a clipboard.

“Alexandra Danvers?” he asked.

“Alex,” she automatically corrected.

“Can I see some ID?”

She stepped back into the house and grabbed her wallet, sliding her new Kansas driver’s license out to show him.

“Thanks,” he said, passing the clipboard over. “We’ve got your boxes, where do you want ‘em?” He thumbed back at a truck sitting in the road.

“Uh, just pile them in the living room,” Alex replied.

He glanced past Alex into the house. “Okay. We’ll move ‘em in. Shouldn’t take too long.”

Alex nodded and stepped out of the way, flipping through the paperwork. There were three guys in total hauling stuff, so it only took a few minutes before there was a large pile of boxes sitting in her living room.

She finished filling out the paperwork and passed it back to the first man, separating out her copy. “Thanks.”

“Sure thing. You have a good day.”

“You too.” Alex absently replied, staring at the pile. There were more boxes there than she remembered packing.

Shrugging a little, Alex started sorting through the boxes. There were the expected couple boxes of her old school stuff (notes and textbooks and the occasional project). There were a couple boxes of clothes and bedding presumably taken from her old room. There was a box of knick knacks and pictures and awards. There was her box of surfing things (not including a surfboard) - an old wetsuit, surfing trophies, some crumbling wax, a few newspaper articles. The remainder of the boxes were filled with notebooks and publications and research, along with a few personal items tucked between pages or down corners.

Alex sat back on her heels. This was her dad’s stuff. All of it. She couldn’t handle it. She thought she’d grieved, but this brought back the pain and loss and loneliness.

She strode into the kitchen and pulled out her whiskey, taking a swig straight from the bottle. She stared at the boxes and took another swig.

 

Many drinks later, after she had worked herself up into a righteous fury (well, drunken fury), Alex composed a scathing email to her mother. She pontificated on how Eliza had pressured her into being the best she could be every since she was a child. She railed on her about trying to cover up Alex’s mistakes because it would make Eliza look bad. She cursed her for packing up all of Jeremiah’s things and never letting Alex grieve. She double-cursed her for sending her Jeremiah’s things because now she had to deal with it all by herself. She asked why Eliza had thrown herself into her work and never been around while Alex was growing up, missing graduations and birthdays even. She refused to be guilt tripped any more about her duty as a daughter, doctor, or scientist. The email trailed off into verbal sobbing about missing her dad and missing her mom and just wanting a proper hug and to be loved for who she was and what she did.

She ran the email through a few grammar apps (because even drunk she knew better than to send her mom a sloppy email) and hit ‘send’ before she could second guess herself. She tried to take another drink of her whiskey but found the bottle empty.

Alex dropped the bottle, stumbled back into her bedroom, and curled up on her bed. She finally allowed herself to cry, sobbing until she fell asleep.

 

_\--- a few days later ---_

 

Dr. Alex <3: _Hey, are you and Clark busy tonight?_

_No, what’s up?_

Dr. Alex <3: _My mom sent my dad’s telescope with my stuff. We used to lie on the roof and stargaze when I was a kid. Thought maybe you and Clark would like to do that?_

Dr. Alex <3: _I know most of the constellations and there’s a lot less light pollution here than in CA._

Dr. Alex <3: _And it’s supposed to be clear tonight._

_That would be great._

_Come over for dinner first?_

Dr. Alex <3: _Sure. See you at 7._

 

They set the telescope up on the roof, climbing out of the window in the left attic room. Kara brought out a few blankets and pillows to sit on. Clark pestered Alex with questions as she set it up, adjusting the lenses and consulting the old star chart that had been tucked in the box with it.

“So, this was your dad’s telescope?”

“Yeah. My mom sent it to me, along with all of the rest of his stuff.”

“The rest of his stuff?”

“Mostly books and notes. A watch. Some other personal effects."

"What did he do?"

"He was a scientist. A researcher. Did lots of groundbreaking work in biology.”

“Huh.” Clark turned to Kara. “Hey, Kara, wasn’t my dad a scientist too?”

Kara nodded, fiddling with one of the pillows. “Both our dads were. They worked together. Your dad was a geologist, primarily.”

“Cool.” Clark turned back to Alex. “If he was a biologist, why did he have a telescope?”

Alex smiled softly. “He really liked the stars. He would always talk about how he wanted to be an astronaut and go find life on other planets. And if he couldn’t do that, well, when we found aliens, he was going to study them and make sure they could survive on our planet.”

Kara glanced at Alex. She seemed lost in her memories.

“Hey, Clark, go grab us some more blankets, will you?” Kara asked.

“Sure!” Clark bounded up and through the window.

Kara shifted up to Alex and placed her hand on Alex’s shoulder. Alex jerked and gave Kara a smile, though Kara could tell it was forced.

“Do you have a favorite star?” Kara asked.

By the time Clark got back, they were discussing the various types of stars and if plants would still be green if the Sun were red or blue or white.

 

They spent the next few hours taking turns looking through the telescope. Alex pointed out her favorite constellations and told the stories behind them. Clark asked lots of questions about space travel and Kara lay back and stared at the stars and listened to Alex’s voice.

About 11 o’clock, Clark’s phone buzzed. He glanced at it. “Uh, that’s Lois. I’m going to go talk to her.”

“Okay,” Kara said. “Don’t stay up too much later, you’ve still got chores in the morning.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Clark grumbled, before snickering a little. <<Don’t you stay up too late with your girlfriend. Or if you do, I don’t want to hear it.>>

<<Kal-El!>> Kara squawked, but Clark had already ducked back through the window.

Alex took one last look through the telescope and then lay back against the roof. She shivered a bit. It was October, after all, and a bit windy out. Kara scooched over, wrapped her arm around Alex, and tugged a blanket over the two of them.

They stared up at the sky.

Kara looked over at Alex, who was staring at the sky, with a wrinkle in her forehead and a stiff jaw.

“Hey,” Kara whispered.

“Hey,” Alex mumbled.

There was a pause before Kara’s voice drifted up again. “Are you okay, sweetie?”

“My mom sent the rest of my stuff to me this week.”

“Okay?” Kara tried to be patient and gentle.

“She sent me all of Dad’s stuff too. All of it.”

“Oh.” The word was filled with understanding. “That brought back all sorts of memories, didn’t it.”

“Yeah.”

Kara shifted a bit closer and squeezed a bit harder. Alex adjusted her head so it was resting on Kara’s shoulder and not just her arm.

“Do you still miss your parents?” Alex asked.

“Sometimes when I look at Clark, I see my father. Or an expression will remind me of my aunt. Or he’ll do something wonderful and I’ll turn to tell my mother about it and she won’t be there.”

Alex turned and spoke into Kara’s neck. Kara was very glad she had superhearing.

“I miss him so much.”

 

They stayed cuddled together while Alex slowly breathed in and out and did not cry.

Eventually, Alex broke the silence. “What language is it that you speak with Clark?”

Kara hesitated. “Um, that’s my first language. I tend to revert when I’m stressed. Or overly emotional.”

“Tell me about it?”

“It’s called <<kryptahniuo>>. There aren’t many speakers left, so I’ve been trying to keep Clark fluent.”

“Hmmm.” Alex hadn’t heard of that one, but that wasn’t surprising. Obscure dialects were dying and being found every day, after all. “Teach me?”

Kara froze. “What?”

“Will you teach me?”

When Kara didn’t respond, Alex continued hesitantly, “You said there aren’t many speakers left, and it would be a shame if it died out. I’m pretty decent at languages, and I’d like to learn more about you and your culture.”

Kara couldn’t say a thing.

Alex winced and shifted slightly away. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to offend you. I’m not part of your culture and that’s the sort of thing that you don’t want people tramping all over . . .”

Kara reached out and pressed her finger against Alex’s lips. “Zhi.”

“Huh?”

Kara repeated herself. “Zhi. Yes.”

Alex hesitantly wrapped her mouth around the syllables. “Zhi?”

Kara beamed.

 


	23. Let's Get Physical

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Public notice: [GeneralSan_3](http://archiveofourown.org/users/GeneralSan_3) is an incredible beta and is really the reason this chapter got published at all. She's the best!

Kara’s and Alex’s morning schedules finally lined up on Saturday and they arranged to have another sparring session. Kara made sure she was the first one in the room so she could turn the lights up and get herself down to more humans levels. Though she didn’t turn the lights quite as high as the last time. Kara stretched a bit, then hopped on the treadmill to warm up while she waited.

<<Kara Zor-El, Dr. Alex Danvers is here.>> Kryptos announced some twenty minutes later.

Kara slowed down on the treadmill. <<So let her in.>>

<<Are you sure, Kara Zor-El? You are vulnerable in this room.>>

<<That’s the point!>> Kara snapped just as Alex walked in.

Alex raised an eyebrow and Kara squirmed a little. “I was talking to the security system.”

“Oh?”

“Kryptos, say hello,” Kara instructed.

The stilted voice seemed a little put-out. “Hello, Dr. Danvers.”

“Hello, Kryptos,” Alex replied hesitantly. “Um, nice to meet you.”

“I see you have not taken care of that liver problem yet,” Kryptos stated. “I recommend drastically decreasing your alcohol intake and perhaps increasing the variety of your diet.”

“What?” Alex said.

<<Kryptos, shut up!>> Kara snapped.

Kara looked apologetically over at Alex. “Sorry, he’s kind of protective, are you ready to spar?”

Alex eyed Kara. She was tense and very nervous. Alex decided to put aside, yet again, all of her questions. “Let me warm up a bit?”

Kara relaxed. “Oh! Yes, of course.”

Alex did her warm-up routine while Kara idly used the rowing machine. Soon, they were both warm and a little sweaty and they moved to the center of the room circling each other.

They traded a few jabs, but neither was really trying very hard yet. They were still feeling out each other’s styles and strengths and weaknesses.

Kara knew Alex was better on the ground, probably from her work in jiu-jitsu, but wasn’t a slouch with fighting on her feet either.  If it came to straight strength, they were probably about equal, with the lights at this level. Kara had a few inches reach on Alex, but Alex was much better at feinting. Basically, Alex was really, really, good, and Kara was going to have to work to beat her.

Kara waited. She could be patient.

Alex struck.

Kara spun, using Alex’s momentum to send Alex careening across the floor.

Alex grinned.

Kara had the unfortunate feeling that she’d just fallen into a trap.

The two punched and kicked and tumbled and separated and clashed together. Kara knew she was doing better than last time, but could feel Alex pressing her advantage. Thinking of how Alex had won last time (by cheating. clearly using her pure attractiveness was cheating) Kara decided to return the favor.

She started lingering when they grappled, ghosting her fingers over Alex’s arms and sides as she went for a hold.

She stopped trying to be subtle as she visually appreciated the sweat-soaked tank top clinging to Alex’s abs.

She became more vocal in her grunts of effort when she threw Alex off or broke a hold.

She put an extra sway in her steps whenever they paused to circle each other and reevaluate before returning to spar again.

She stretched and preened, giving Alex flashes of toned back muscles and smooth arms and tight abs and lean legs.

And it was working.

Kara smiled to herself as Alex’s moves became less sharp, less sure. Finally, finally, after what seemed like hours (seriously, even distracted Alex was an excellent fighter), Alex stumbled during a high kick.

Kara slid into the extra space and pulled on Alex’s thigh, adding just enough force to the kick to get Alex off balance. As she fumbled to recover, Kara twirled them around, easing Alex to the ground.

They ended up with Alex on her back, her arms twisted between her and Kara, who still had one hand on Alex’s thigh and the other propped next to Alex’s head. Alex’s right leg was hooked around Kara’s hip from trying to balance herself as she fell.

Alex blinked, thoroughly stunned. Kara grinned down at Alex and pressed her a little more firmly into the ground.

“I’ve got you now!” Kara said gleefully, with a waggle of her eyebrows.

“All right, all right, I yield.” Alex chuckled, wriggling around to free her hands. They somehow ended up around Kara’s waist.

“Does that mean I get a prize?” Kara asked.

Alex’s leg compulsively clenched around Kara. “What kind of prize were you thinking?”

Kara dipped her head down. “Oh, I don’t know. Something awesome.”

Alex’s hands traced patterns on Kara’s back, sending chills up her spine. “You did work very hard to win.”

“I did.” Kara agreed, inhaling softly and losing herself in the smells of sweat and iron and Alex.

The suddenly much quicker pace of Alex’s heartbeat brought Kara back.

Kara held Alex’s gaze, trying her hardest not to stare at Alex’s soft and supple lips.

She failed.

Kara held her breath as they slowly moved towards each other.

Alex flipped Kara off of her, yelped “I need to go!” and sprinted out the door.

Kara stared. “What just happened?”

<<It appears Dr. Danvers does not want to kiss you.>> Kryptos replied.

<<Shut up, Kryptos.>>

 

\---

 

Sunday morning, Alex paused as she was adding to her list of observations. (Called me sweetie, put her arm around me, warmer than most humans, ate a whole chicken at dinner, down right flirted to throw me off while sparring, her security system is an AI beyond any human capability, almost kissed me!) She’d been sorting through boxes and books and papers for the past day and a half and writing notes on Kara in between times and she really wanted a break. She glanced outside and smiled to see that it was sunny and calm. Not particularly warm, but good weather to exercise in.

She tapped her phone thoughtfully, checked the hospital schedule, and dialed Abby.

. . .

“Hey, so I bought a bike yesterday and I was wondering if you wanted to come biking with me today?”

. . .

“Meet you at your place in twenty?”

. . .

“See you then!”

 

Alex turned into Abby’s driveway 23 minutes later. Abby was squatting down next to her bike, adjusting the tires while Raven held Clarke on her hip. They all three looked up as Alex came to a stop. Abby and Raven gave her bike a once over.

“Nice bike,” Raven said. “That’s a good brand. No major defects.”

Alex grinned. “Thanks.”

Abby stood up and buckled on her helmet.

“You ready?” Alex asked.

“Yep! See you in a couple hours, Raven. Don’t blow up the house.”

Clarke giggled at that and Raven rolled her eyes but leaned in for a quick goodbye kiss.

Abby mounted her bike and the two women set out, Abby leading them towards some of her favorite routes.

 

They biked for a while, chatting about work and other random things before Abby decided to dig for some gossip. Purely for Raven’s benefit, of course.

“How is Kara doing? I haven’t talked with her lately.”

“Good,” Alex replied, seemingly not thinking it odd that Abby would ask her about Kara. “Got her last corn crop harvested this week and we did some stargazing on Friday. I got to teach Clark some constellations. Until he ran off to talk with Lois, of course.”

Abby chuckled. “I don’t think I’ll ever be ready for my Clarke to date.”

“Kara seems to be doing well with it,” Alex said.

“Well, maybe she feels better about it since she’s dating someone.”

“What?” Alex nearly crashed her bike. “She’s dating someone?”

“Isn’t she dating you?” Abby said, guilelessly.

“No,” Alex replied, a bit wistfully. “We’re not dating.”

“But you want to be.”

Alex shrugged. “Yeah, kind of.”

Abby made gentle encouraging noises but didn’t actually say anything. Letting the other person fill the silence worked very well.

Alex didn’t hold out very long. “Okay, so, I like her and I think she likes me. I’ve been trying to prove it, you know, making a list of observations, drawing logical conclusions, but I’m not getting anywhere.”

Abby nearly laughed at the way Alex was applying the scientific method. “What sort of observations have you made?”

“Nothing solid. Just things that could be flirting or could be friendly. Bringing me food, asking me over for dinner, letting me borrow her work-out room, she gave me a plant for my office, texts me things like ‘have a nice day’, listens when I talk about stuff and asks questions like she’s really interested.”

Abby pulled off into a park, stopping at a water fountain. “That definitely sounds like she likes you. And really, half the town thinks you’re dating already.”

“Well, I’m not so sure. I’ve got issues and I drink too much and she’s super kind and friendly to everyone. I mean, it’s probably just confirmation bias.”

Abby looked over at Alex briefly, then focused back on filling her water bottle. “I had a lot of the same worries with Raven. I had a child and a hectic job and was years older than Raven. She was going to college and had a bright future. Why would she be interested in me? She flirted and teased and would come over and do things with me and Clarke, and asked me out to dinner, but I still wasn’t sure.”

“What happened?”

Abby blushed lightly. “I blew up at her. Dumped all of my fears and concerns and insecurities in one large rant.”

Alex gaped. “What did she do?”

“She gave me a hug, kissed me on the cheek, and sent me off for a spa day. Told me to take some time focusing on who I was and what I wanted and what I was ready for, or willing to take the risk on, and then come back and talk with her.”

“Wow.”

Abby got a fond look on her face. “Raven has been really patient with me. And so good with Clarke.”

Abby pulls herself out of her reverie to look at Alex, who was frowning as she stared at the water filling her bottle.

“Look,” Abby said. “I’m pretty sure that Kara wants to date you, and I’m pretty sure that you know that. The question is, what do you want?”

Alex twisted the cap back on her bottle, thinking hard. “I want to date her. I want to be better for her.”

Abby smiled. “There you go. Now you just need to talk to her about it.”

Alex shrugged noncommittally before grinning. “Race you back to your house!”


	24. Building

Alex frowned at her phone. She hadn’t heard from Kara since the eventful sparring session on Saturday. She needed to apologize for running out on Kara without explaining. At first, she had no idea what to say, and then she talked to Abby and had some idea, but, by that point, it had been over 28 hours since she’d talked to Kara (the longest stretch yet without even a text!) and she was all worried Kara hated her now. Alex decided to break the silence. If Kara didn’t respond to a text, and then a call, she would go buy a few gallons of ice cream and go over to Kara’s to apologize. On her knees if necessary.

Taking a deep breath to brace herself, Alex quickly typed out her message and hit send.

_Hey._

Kara Stone: _Hey._

Alex tapped her phone against her palm. That was unenthusiastic, which was unlike Kara. No emojis or exclamation points or a ramble of words. But, it was better than nothing.

_Sorry for running out on you last Saturday._

Kara Stone: _It’s fine! Don’t worry! Nothing to worry about here!_

_Are you okay?_

Kara Stone: _Yes!_

Alex was not convinced.

_I’m really sorry about what happened while sparring. I should have stayed and talked._

Kara Stone: _No, it’s totally fine! I wanted to think about some stuff before talking to you again anyway._

Alex’s frown deepened. This sounded like a break-up, except for the part where they weren’t dating. They weren’t.

_Think about what, if you don’t mind me asking?_

Kara Stone: _What you said about your ex lying to you, I don’t want to do that to you._

Alex’s heart sank.

Kara Stone: _That sounded bad. I haven’t been lying, I swear._

Kara Stone: _I just have secrets. Things about me that I haven’t told you. And that worries me._

Kara Stone: _And then I came on to you super strong, which I shouldn’t have. I know you said you weren’t ready to date._

Kara Stone: _I don’t want to push you or hide things from you. I want this to be a good relationship._

Alex relaxed.

_Everybody has secrets. I haven’t told you everything about me, after all._

_If I ever ask about something too personal, just tell me you don’t want to talk about it._

_And you weren’t coming on too strong. I kind of liked it._

Kara Stone: _Thanks. :-)_

Kara Stone: _And you tell me if I ever push too much, okay?_

_I will._

Kara Stone: _Awesome. :D_

There was a pause.

Kara Stone: _Soooooooo, what are you up to today? ;-)_

_Cleaning, painting, maybe buying some more furniture._

Kara Stone: _Want company?_

_That would be amazing. I’d love to see you again._

Kara Stone: _*fireworks emoji* Be there after morning chores._

 

Alex tucked her phone back in her pocket and went back to sorting through paint chips. She’d narrowed it down to three choices for the bedroom and two for the living room, but still had no ideas for the bathroom or kitchen yet. Tapping her fingers thoughtfully, she decided to ask Kara’s opinion and set about moving furniture (what little she had) and draping tarps in preparation for painting.

She’d nearly finished covering everything with plastic when there was a knock on the front door and Kara poked her head in.

Alex smiled. “Come on in.”

Kara grinned, bouncing a little, and presented Alex with a box of her favorite muffins as she came through the door. “Breakfast, since you probably didn’t eat.”

Alex accepted the box, stretching up to give Kara a kiss on the cheek. “You know me too well.”

Kara blushed prettily. “I’d like to know you better.”

Alex turned toward the kitchen to put the muffins down. “You just have to ask.”

“Really? Okay.” Kara said. “Let’s start with the plan for today?”

Alex grinned. “Go to the hardware store and buy paint. Come back and paint the walls. While it dries, get some lunch and buy furniture. Come back, put the second coat on. While that dries, eat dinner. Tomorrow, arrange furniture and unpack the rest of the stuff.”

Kara surveyed the boxes scattered around the house. “That’s a lot to unpack.”

“It’s actually not as much as it looks. Those boxes are all books.” Alex said, gesturing to a large stack in the middle of the room. “The rest can fit with the furniture I’ve got, but I’m going to have to get so many bookcases.”

“We could make some,” Kara interjected. “That way they would perfectly fit your living room.”

Alex looked over at Kara. “Really?”

Kara shrugged. “Sure. You buy the supplies, I’ll do the labor. We can pick up the wood while we get the paint and make them while the paint dries.”

“And tools?”

Kara shrugged. “I’ve got the basics in my truck and we could swing by for my chop saw this afternoon.”

“Okay.” Alex pulled her list over. “What will we need?”

Kara grabbed the tape measurer. “How deep do you want them? And where?”

Alex gestured vaguely. “Uh, deep enough for textbooks and not in front of the windows?”

Kara chuckled. “Your wish is my command.”

Kara grabbed a piece of paper and began taking notes and measurements while Alex stared again at the paint chips. Alex managed to eliminate a couple more colors by the time Kara finished with her sketches for the bookcases.

Alex turned towards Kara and held up a fan of colors. “Which do you think?”

Kara cocked her head, then pointed determinedly at four colors. “Lavender for the bedroom, cream for the living room and dining area, butter yellow for the kitchen, and mint green for the bathroom. Put whatever you have left over in the washroom and closets.”

Alex considered. “Perfect.”

She scribbled down the colors, calculated the areas they would need to cover with each, and passed the list to Kara, who added everything they would need for bookcases.

“I calculated enough shelf space for all of your current book collection, along with some extra, because I expect you’ll be getting more eventually,” Kara explained as she showed Alex the sketches.

Alex gave Kara an impromptu hug in gratitude before darting back into her bedroom to find her shoes and wallet and jacket.

 

The hardware store was playing ‘Best of the 60s’ when they entered. They grabbed a cart and Alex hopped on, pushing off with her foot and singing along to the song floating through the store. Kara sped up behind her, placing her hands on either side of Alex’s on the handlebar, pressing lightly up against her back. Alex laughed and settled more firmly on the cart, allowing Kara to push her down the aisles. They collected towel racks and screws, paintbrushes and tape, wood and rollers, gallons of paint and sandpaper, curtain rods and varnish. Alex looked longingly at the light fixtures and took notes on sinks and toilets and shower heads, but determined to do those later.

Kara was pulling the cart (and Alex) down the tool aisle, fawning over the new set of wrenches the store had just gotten in when Alex’s phone rang. Alex answered it absent-mindedly.

“Hello?”

_“Hello, Alexandra.”_

“Oh, hey Mom.” Alex chuckled at Kara’s rapt fascination with a crescent wrench.

_“What are you doing?”_

“Kara and I are at the hardware store. I’m painting today.” Alex answered cheerfully, thinking ahead to everything she had planned for the day and how she got to spend it with Kara.

_“Oh.”_

There was a small pause before Eliza continued.

_“You sound happy.”_

“What?” Alex finally focused on the phone call, turning her back to Kara to avoid being distracted.

_“Oh, nothing,”_ Eliza said. _“I was just calling to see how you were, but you’re busy. I’ll call back later.”_

“Um, okay.” Alex looked at the phone oddly as Eliza hung up.

She shrugged and turned back to Kara. “Are you done drooling over the tools? I want to get this show on the road.”

 

The two girls decided to start painting in the bedroom. As soon as they were set up, Alex eagerly turned to Kara.

“Okay, teach me more about Kryptahniuo. Does it have its own alphabet? Or is it logographic?”

“Uh, alphabetic, though there is an older, more symbolic form.” Kara sketched a few lines on the wall with her paintbrush. “That’s my name.”

Alex carefully copied the lines onto a notepad. “Okay, and how do you pronounce it?”

Kara paused, closed her eyes, straightened her back into the old and familiar pose, and allowed the words to roll off her tongue. <<I am Kara Zor-El, lady of the Great House of El, and heir to Krypton.>>

She opened her eyes to see Alex, kneeling on the floor with pen poised over her notebook, staring at her in wonder.

Kara immediately ducked her head and started furiously painting the wall.

Alex grabbed her own roller and stepped up beside Kara, nudging her gently with her shoulder. They painted a few minutes in silence before Alex spoke up again.

“Yes. Sí. Oui. Ja. Zhi.”

Kara wrinkled her nose. “What?”

“Hello. Hola. Salut. Hallo.” Alex made a questioning gesture.

“Oh! Ehrosh bem.” Kara finished. “It’s both hello and goodbye, really.”

“Ehrosh bem.” Alex said carefully. Her pronunciation was nearly perfect.

Several phrases (yes, no, please, thank you, hello, goodbye, my name is, how are you, I’m good, nice to meet you, what time is it) and three rooms later, Kara asked her own question. “How many languages do you know?”

Alex rolled her paint roller thoughtfully in the tray. “Not too many.”

Kara snorted. “I counted English, Spanish, French, and German. Is that all?”

Alex shrugged. “And Latin, but I’m not sure that really counts, since no one really speaks it anymore, outside of the Vatican. And that weird radio station in Finland.”

“That’s everything?”

Alex waffled before giving into Kara’s stare. “And ASL. And I’ve been looking into Russian and Mandarin, but I don’t actually know much of those yet.”

“But you are fluent in six languages!”

Alex lifted a shoulder and ducked her head. “I guess.”

“Wow!” Kara breathed. “You must have a very talented tongue!”

Alex flicked her paintbrush at Kara, spotting the old t-shirt Kara had borrowed with flecks of white. “A talented tongue, really?”

Kara blushed bright red. “You know what I mean.” she mumbled.

Alex chuckled and turned back to the wall. Kara darted forward and swiped her paintbrush across Alex’s back, and was back at her wall, painting and whistling innocently, when Alex spun around in mock horror.

“Oh, now it’s on!” Alex said, lunging towards Kara with her roller.

 

Twenty minutes later, they were crammed into Alex’s small bathroom, mock fighting over the sink and trying to clean off the paint that was now all over them. They’d already finished the first layer of paint in every room, which was one of the benefits of having a small house. After splashing around and making themselves mostly decent, Alex suggested lunch. Out. Because the kitchen was currently covered in paint and tarps and it’s not like Alex had food there anyway.

They hopped into Alex’s station wagon and decided on Sonic so they wouldn’t have to be in public with their paint covered clothes. They arrived, and ordered, and waited for their food while singing along to the radio as loud as they could. Their food showed up, the server wished them a nice day, and they both dug in.

There were a few other patrons at the fast food joint, even some using the tables outside instead of sitting in their cars. As the girls watched and chatted one of the other couples at a table got into an argument. They weren’t sure what prompted it, but it soon devolved into a screaming match with curse words, name-calling, and references to things that had happened years before.

Kara ducked her head and focused on her mountain of food until a worker braved the argument and asked the couple to leave.

When the couple had left (with lots of yelling at the server and each other), Alex poked at her food. “You really haven’t been lying to me?”

Kara nearly choked. “Rao, no! Never!”

“Okay.” Alex eyed Kara carefully but went back to her food.

They ate quietly for a few minutes before Alex spoke up again.

“I’ve been thinking.”

Kara blinked. “About?” She asked, trying to keep her voice as calm and soothing as she could through a mouthful of hot dog.

“Who I am and who I was and how much more like me I feel than I did when I first moved here.”

Kara glanced at Alex, who was firmly staring at her food. “That’s a good thing, right?”

Alex gave a dry laugh. “Yeah, it’s good, but it scares the hell out of me.”

Kara reached over and turned the music down so she could better focus on Alex.

“I don’t understand.” Kara spoke with no malice or accusation, just calm acceptance and curiosity and a desire to know Alex better.

Alex finally took a bite of her food, using the time to collect her thoughts. “Back in CA, back with Maggie, I was in a sort of rut. Work, then home, hit the gym when I could, take all the martial arts classes I could fit in. Dinner with my mom every couple of weeks where she talked about my career path and what I needed to do next and extolled Maggie’s virtues and scolded me for whatever wrong I’d done recently. A few evenings a week with Maggie. Between her job and mine, we didn’t have much time together and most of it was spent arguing, but even that was normal and familiar. Build up resentment about something, let it spill out in a massive fight, have wild make-up sex afterwards.”

Alex took a fierce bite out of the piece of chicken in her hand and chewed viciously. Kara reached over and rested her hand on Alex’s thigh, trying to offer some comfort.

Alex swallowed and continued. “And then I screwed up at work. Big time. I mean, no one died or anything, but it cost the hospital a ton of money and it nearly went to court. My mom pulled some strings so I wasn’t fired and it wasn’t public, but there were whispers and rumors and resentment. The nurses would try to sabotage me and the other doctors pulled pranks. The mean kind. Then Maggie broke up with me because she had found someone else and had been seeing her for weeks and really didn’t want ‘to be dragged down by a dead-end girlfriend’ anymore.

“That was it. I’d been kicked out of the apartment I’d shared with Maggie and I didn’t want to go home because my mom would just yell at me. I couldn’t stand to be at work anymore, either, so I quit the hospital and started looking for a new job. I applied to every place I could find that was at least a thousand miles away.”

Alex chuckled, but there was no humor in it. “I ran away. I slept in my car, avoided everyone I knew, and spent my days at the gym until I got a work offer from Wilson. I emailed them back, hopped in my car, and drove straight here.”

“And crashed into my fence.” Kara said, with a kind smile and a soft rub of her hand.

“Exactly!” Alex exclaimed. “And everybody has been so nice and I’ve started up with things I enjoy again and I’m so much more relaxed. I feel more free and happy and open and comfortable in my own skin.”

“That all sounds really good.”

Alex shrugged. “I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop.”

Kara shifted closer to Alex, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. “You deserve to be happy.”

“You make me happy.” Alex replied. “But I’m still scared.”

Kara dropped a kiss on Alex’s cheek. “Okay, just to get this straight, you’re feeling more confident about who you are and happy, but you are still worried that everything will go wrong again.”

Alex leaned into Kara. “Yes.”

Kara thought and started speaking slowly. “Things may go wrong. That’s how life is. But, to me, your happiness is worth any risk.”

“You like me.” Alex stated.

“Very much.”

“Even though if we were to start a romantic relationship, it would probably crash and burn.”

“I don’t think it will, and even if it does, I think it’s worth it.”

“I’m not ready to be a girlfriend again.”

Kara was so proud of Alex for acknowledging her needs and expressing them. “I’m not asking for that.”

Alex groaned in frustration. “But I do want to date you.”

Kara thought. “We can be slow and careful. Not girlfriends, but people who are important to each other who do stuff together.”

“That seems a lot like being a girlfriend.”

“We wouldn't have to go on official dates. We could just do one on one stuff. Or we could start with a group activity! Next week, I’m taking the kids to the water park. Lucy and Vasquez will be back in town, and we could invite them and make it a double date/babysitting thing. Low pressure, no commitment, just a group of people having fun, maybe some light flirting. I could even ask Winn to come along and foist the actual babysitting off on him so we can have some time to ourselves.” Kara gave Alex a devious grin.

Alex considered. She liked all of those people, and getting back on a surfboard would be awesome. She could test out the date part with little pressure, and seeing Kara in a swimsuit would be a definite bonus. But, she was still convinced she wouldn’t be a good girlfriend. Hadn’t her relationship with Maggie shown that?

“I don’t know.” Alex said, worrying her lip. “I’m not a good person to date.”

Kara pulled out the big guns and widened her eyes, jutting her lip out into the slightest pout. “We don’t have to make it a date, but I’d really love for you to come whatever you decide.”

Alex sighed. “We won’t tell the others it’s a sort of date?”

“Not a word.” Kara promised.

“And I’m not your girlfriend?”

“You’re not my girlfriend.” Kara said, silently adding _yet_.

Alex nodded, a look of determination on her face. “Okay. Let’s try this.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lots of notes today, so here goes!  
> First, languages. I kind of BSed my way through the Kryptonian / Kryptonese discussion here. Honestly, it changes significantly through comic and movie canon, so I just picked one and went with it. Yay poetic license and online dictionaries! I’ve decided (because polyglots are hot) that Alex is really quite good with languages. As for the Latin radio station, yes that is a thing. There’s one out of Finland, and one out of Germany, that I know of. [This](http://www.latinitatis.com/latinitas/menu_gb.htm) is a pretty good resource for Latin as a live language.  
> Second, Eliza might just be having a change of heart! As is Alex. Yay character development!  
> Thirdly, I swear I was aiming for tooth-rotting fluff this chapter. I don’t know what happened! That’s a lie, plot and drama and character development happened and it looks like there’s more to come, but I will be sure to put in as many sweet and sexy and cute moments as I can!  
> Lastly, Sexy_Alpha, you know what you did; thank you! Also, thanks to all the wonderful people that let me bounce ideas off of them.


	25. Revelations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi. Sorry this took much longer to post. I do have the next several chapters planned out and started, so hopefully they will be up faster. Enjoy!

It took Alex another week to finish unpacking, even though the house had been painted, the bookcases made, and the furniture purchased in a whirlwind two days off. Kara had been a big help and hadn’t pushed the girlfriend thing at all.

Honestly, the biggest thing that slowed down her unpacking was that Alex would get distracted by all of her dad’s notes and books. He had this habit of writing his thoughts in the margins whenever he was reading (whether it be a newspaper, book, or academic article) and Alex would get lost for hours reading through them.

Alex had always had some sort of idea of what her dad was working on, but now, with a couple of degrees under her belt, she really understood. His work was peppered with references to augmented humans and aliens and all the possibilities that came from them.

Alex chuckled sadly at her dad’s excitement. It was both happy and painful to read his notes. She slid a couple more books on the bookcase (taking a moment to admire Kara’s craftsmanship) before opening up the next box. This one was full of notebooks and files, all very official looking. Alex flipped through the first one. It didn’t look familiar at all, but the handwriting was her dad’s. She looked at the outside of the box again. It was neatly labeled (on two sides) “Danvers, Jeremiah; Personal Effects”.

Did Eliza ever even look in this box? Alex mused. Deciding not to ruin her mood by thinking about how her mother had handled Jeremiah’s death, Alex opened the notebook to the first page.

It was fascinating.

And clearly very confidential.

Alex had no idea how these notebooks weren’t locked up in a secret lab somewhere, but she wasn’t going to question it. She spent the whole night reading and making her own notes (in code in a separate notebook, of course) and trying to wrap her head around the fact that her dad, her actual dad, had seen aliens (and what he termed “meta-humans” and had worked with them and had helped them!

Alex studied until her alarm clock rang to wake her up for the trip to the water park. Alex looked at the clock, looked at her bed, sighed ruefully, and chugged a couple cups of coffee.

 

-

 

Clark was beyond excited about going to the water park. Ever since Kara had casually mentioned the tickets he had been pestering her about it. Well, when he wasn’t teasing her about Alex. When the day arrived, he was up a whole hour early, and supersped through his chores.

Kara chuckled when he grabbed his bag with his swimsuit and stood eagerly by the door. <<We aren’t picking Winn and Alex up for another two hours. Go find something to do, or I’ll have you running drills in the gym.>>

Even that threat couldn’t dim his excitement. He took Bothgar out for a run and filled the shed with chopped wood and pulled out the stump they had been meaning to get to and even started working on the next week’s homework!

 

Finally, finally, it was time to go. They picked up Winn first, and Kara relegated the boys to the back of the cab with a well-timed hip bump and a firm glare. She pulled up in front of Alex’s house and told both Winn and Clark (who were whispering in the back seat about something; Kara was too distracted with thoughts of Alex to listen in) to stay put.

She collected a bouquet of bluebells from the back, straightened her shirt, tapped her belt buckle for luck, and rapped on Alex’s door.

Alex flung it open. She had dark circles under her eyes and a bag flipped over her shoulder. Her gaze flicked from Kara’s face to the bouquet of flowers and back again.

Kara held out the bluebells. “For you.”

“Thank you,” Alex replied, accepting the flowers and waving Kara into the house. She dropped her bag on the floor and found a large cup to put the bouquet in.

Kara followed after Alex and, as soon as the bouquet was safely out of Alex’s hands, wrapped Alex in a warm hug, dropping a kiss on Alex’s cheek as she did so. “I’m really glad you’re coming.”

“I’m really looking forward to it,” Alex admitted. “I’ve missed the water.”

They stood wrapped in their hug for several minutes before a series of honks from outside broke them apart.

Kara rolled her eyes. “Impatient boys. We haven’t been that long.”

Alex smiled and grabbed her keys. “We should go. Don’t want the neighbors getting mad about the noise this early in the morning.”

Kara laughed, but agreed, and picked up Alex’s bag, heading out the door and waiting for her to lock up before walking with her to the truck and opening the front passenger door for her.

Clark immediately started pestering her with surfing questions while Winn waggled his eyes suggestively at Kara through the window. Kara firmly ignored him and put Alex’s bag in the box in the bed before hopping in and starting up the truck again.

 

The ride wasn’t too long and passed quickly with pleasant conversation. They met up with the others in the large parking lot of the water park. It wasn’t hard; all they had to do was park Gertrude and wait. Even in a parking lot of that size, Gertrude easily stood out. When Lucy’s sedan pulled up next to Gertrude, Lois and Jimmy fell out of the back and immediately began chattering away at Clark. Lucy and Vasquez got out a bit slower and gathered all of their bags from the trunk. There was a little fuss at the admittance window about who was paying for whom. (Alex insisted on paying for herself, Kara said she using one of her tickets on Alex, so she basically was paying for herself anyway, and it was solved when Lucy grabbed the tickets and everybody’s wallets and sorted it at the counter before Kara and Alex could finish their argument.)

 

The group entered the changing rooms and ducked into the stalls. Lucy and Vasquez decided to change in the same stall, which prompted Kara to laugh, Lois to gag, and Alex to just roll her eyes.

Kara changed quickly into her solid blue one-piece but Alex still beat her out of the stalls. Kara jerked to a stop when she saw her. Alex was leaned up against a wall of the changing room, next to the showers, wearing nothing but a bikini top and board shorts.

Intellectually, Kara had known she would see Alex in a swimsuit. They were going to a waterpark, after all. But nothing could have prepared her for this. The brief glimpses of her abs at the gym had nothing on this glorious expanse of bare skin.

Alex shifted, lifting her foot up to prop it against the wall while she fiddled with her phone. Her muscles rippled with the slight movement.

Kara gulped.

Alex looked up and scanned her eyes up and down Kara’s body before smirking. Kara could hear Alex’s heart rate increase.

They stood there, staring at each other, until Lois dashed out of her stall, trying to shove her clothes back into her bag and finish tying on her wrap all at once. Kara snagged the bag out of Lois’s hands and neatly folded the clothes while Alex caught Lois and made sure all her knots were secure.

“Wait for us by the lockers,” Kara commanded. “No getting in the water until we’re all there.”

Lois nodded and darted out the door.

Kara banged on a nearby stall. “Lucy, Vasquez, this is a family friendly facility. I’m giving you 30 seconds before I haul you out of there.”

 

They’d gotten the lovebirds out of their stall, met up with boys, and were shoving their bags and towels into a couple of lockers when a man came up to them. He was dressed incongruously in slacks and a button down and had a name tag proclaiming him “Ed, Manager.”

He cleared his throat nervously. “Excuse me, are you Alex Danvers?”

Alex drew her eyebrows together. “Yeah. What’s the problem?”

“Can I get your autograph?” The man blurted.

“What?”

“You’re Alex ‘Ace’ Danvers, right? Six time amateur surfing champion?”

Alex glanced around nervously then closed her eyes in supplication before admitting it. “Yeah, that was me.”

“I watched all of your events! I was so disappointed you didn’t go professional. What brings you to Kansas?”

“Work,” Alex answered shortly.

“Right, of course!” Ed effused. “You have to do something to make a living.” He laughed jovially. “I can’t believe you’re here. Here! In my facility! You all are VIPs now, of course. Free admittance, shirts, the works. Can I talk with you? I’d love to hear about what you’ve been doing!”

“Um, thank you. Can we talk later? I mean, I came with my friends, and I just want to get back in the water . . .” Alex trailed off.

“Oh! Of course!” The man looked horribly apologetic. “Here’s my card, email or call whenever. I will let you enjoy your time here. If you need anything else, just ask.” He shook Alex’s hand furiously, beamed at the group, and bustled off.

Alex shuffled a little as she faced Kara, her face bright red. “I am so sorry.”

Kara shrugged. “Oh, I don’t mind. Now, where do you think we should start? We have surfing lessons at 10, so we have some time to explore first. The lazy river perhaps?”

Lucy sidled up next to Kara and leaned forward with interest. “Did he say six championships?”

Without looking, Kara stuck out her left arm and violently pushed Lucy into the nearby pool.

She continued her conversation with Alex as if nothing had happened. “Or we could hit the slides. They’re not very busy right now and maybe the climb will burn off some of the kids’ energy.”

“The slides sound like fun.” Alex agreed. “Or do you need to practice swimming? You have to be at a certain skill level to take the surfing lessons.”

“I’ve been practicing in the pond, so I think I’m good, but thank you!” Kara turned to the others, including a now soaking Lucy Lane. “What do you say we start with the slides?”

The kids cheered and the adults grinned.

 

-

 

Alex had signed up for the surfing lessons too, just so she could stick with the group. The teacher was very nice about it, telling her to go ahead and surf and to let him know if she wanted any sort of refresher. She stuck around for the first bit of the lesson, helping steady her friends on their boards, and giving advice (when asked). Soon, they were all set loose to try out what they had learned.

Alex relaxed as she stood up on her board and began cutting through the wave. It had been far too long since she’d been on a board, but her body still remembered the motions. It was soothing. Not quite as freeing as being out in the ocean, but wonderful still. Here, on her board, she could sort through every confusing thought and event from the past weeks. There was something about the physicality of surfing that led itself very well to meditation.

She was riding a wonderful wave (impressive for an indoor pool, really) and thinking about her dad and his work when she was struck with an idea so astounding she fell off her board.

It was her worst wipe-out since she was 13. She face-planted spectacularly into the water, complete with flipping the board high into the air and flailing her arms. The crowd around the pool cheered raucously and Kara swam over in concern.

“Are you all right?” Kara asked, ignoring the teacher trying to explain the dangers of swimming in front of surfers like that.

Alex stared at Kara, her eyes wide. “Oh! Yes, I’m fine, go back to class.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, I’m sure. Go surf.”

Kara reluctantly swam back to the group and Alex swung herself back up on her board. She paddled out to the deepest and roughest portion of the pool. She always thought best when exerting herself.

As Alex swum and surfed and thought, she didn’t notice Kara watching her with a worried look on her face. She followed her original train of thought again and again. Dad saw, studied, and worked with aliens and meta-humans. Therefore, these must exist. Many aliens and meta-humans look and act just like us but have different abilities and technology. Kara and Clark both exhibit non-human abilities with no explanation as to their source. Kara and Clark were sent away as children and did not have any relatives to be sent to and didn’t end up with child services. I can find no record of anything even close to their language on earth. Their security system is well beyond human capabilities. It is very likely Kara and Clark are aliens. Or super-human of some sort.

She came to the same conclusion every time she examined the evidence. She wasn't sure what to do about it.

 

-

 

After lunch, they all decided to take a ride on the lazy river while they digested. Lucy and Vasquez grabbed a double inner tube (of course) and Kara debated grabbing a double for her and Alex. But, just as she was about to suggest it, Alex said she was going to go talk to the man who had accosted them earlier. Kara nodded in agreement and picked up the double, settling into it.

"You can come join me when you're done," Kara suggested.

"Yeah, I will," Alex said, before making her way towards the office.

Kara lay back, closing her eyes and focusing her hearing on Alex’s voice.

Alex knocked on the office door frame. “Hey.”

The man’s cheerful tones reached Kara’s ears. “Alex! Hello! Come in!"

"Why did you come talk to me?" Alex asked as she slipped into the office and closed the door behind her.

"I just wanted to ask some questions. Could I take a photograph with you, maybe? And what are your thoughts on sponsoring? Or coming and teaching a class or two every so often? And what happened to you?”

“What?”

“You were my favorite surfer for years, and then you just dropped off the map. I watched all your meets, read all your interviews, and searched for months trying to find out what happened. When you showed up here, I couldn’t help myself.”

“You sound like my stalker.”

Kara’s eyes flew open and she stared through people and inner tubes and walls to find Alex. The man, Ed, was sitting at his desk with a horrified expression on his face. Alex’s body was tense and her feet spread and ready, as if she were about to throw a punch.

Ed leaned back in his chair and dragged his hands over his face. He stood up and addressed Alex seriously. “I apologize. I was inappropriately forward and aggressive. I disturbed you when you were just trying to go about your business. Even though you were a public figure at one time, that does not give me the right to invade your privacy. It won’t happen again.”

“You really mean that.”

“Yes.”

Alex studied him carefully before relaxing. “Do you honestly want me to sponsor this place? Or teach classes?”

“Absolutely.”

“I’ve never taught in my life.”

“You were always giving tips to the younger surfers at the competitions. And watching you with your friends today? You’re a good teacher. You’re kind and patient and you know how to explain it.”

Alex shrugged, brushing off the compliments.

“Besides, we have the most realistic wave machine in the world.” Ed continued. “I know it’s nothing like the real ocean, but you should be able to do all the basic stuff, a lot of the advanced work, and maybe even some of your special tricks.”

Alex grimaced. “I don’t know if I remember those. It has been years.”

“You are welcome to come practice here anytime.”

Alex chewed her lip reflectively. “It would be nice to get back in the water once in awhile.”

“Definitely!” Ed smiled. “And our more advanced classes include a week trip to Hawaii to surf. If you taught, you could come with.”

“That is really tempting.”

“Sometimes we go to Costa Rica too.”

Alex spoke slowly. “I don’t want to sponsor. I don’t like being part of the public view like that.”

“Okay.”

“Do you have any preparation? For your teachers?”

“Yes. A two-hour class on how to teach and deal with the public.”

“All right.” Alex leaned forward and started scribbling something on the desk. “Send me a contract and whatever questions you have.”

Ed beamed. “Thank you!”

Alex gestured at the wall. “Do you want me to sign your poster?”

Kara immediately looked at what Alex was gesturing at. It was a very large poster with a very young Alex Danvers surfing down a tube of water. The top read “Alex ‘Ace’ Danvers” and there was some text at the bottom, proclaiming which competition it was from.

Kara made a mental note to youtube it when she got home.

Before Kara really noticed, Alex was sliding into the river next to her and linking their hands together.

“Thank you for bringing me here,” Alex said.

“It was my pleasure,” Kara replied, placing a soft kiss on Alex’s knuckles.


	26. Flashback, Five Months P.C.L.

“How old are you?” Winn asked, out of the blue. He was lying on his back on a patch of grass next to Kara’s and Kal’s pods, staring up at the sky. Kara was sitting next to him, playing with Kal-El.

“Ten ahmzets,” Kara answered easily. “But Kryptonian years are not the same as Earth years, so I am unsure what age I am here. Why do you ask?”

“I was just wondering if you would be in my grade at school. It’d be nice to have someone to sit next to in class.”

“School?” Kara frowned in thought. “What is that exactly? I have heard lots of people mention it, and my employer expects me to go.”

Winn shifted onto his side so he could look at her better. “School is where we learn about stuff. Math and science and reading and English and history. We have teachers and do homework and get picked on by bullies.”

“That sounds inefficient. Can I not just learn from my AI?”

Winn snorted. “I wish. That would be so nice. But you really need to go to school. All the kids go to school. You’ll really get in trouble if you don’t. And then people will start asking questions and getting suspicious and all sorts of horrible things could happen!”

Kara frowned. “Very well. How do I get into this school?”

“You go to the office, tell them you just moved here, show them some ID and your transcripts from your last school and they put you on the roll.”

There was a beat while Kara stared at him.

“I’m an alien, Winn.”

“Oh wow, you don’t have a birth certificate or social security card or anything, do you.”

“No.”

“And no parents or guardians.”

“Correct.”

“And you have a kid.”

Kara did not dignify that with a response. Kal was literally sitting right in front of Winn.

“Shit, this is going to be tough.”

Kara cocked her head in an ambivalent movement. She knew that. She knew it was hard. Hadn’t she been living this for the last five months? Every new custom or piece of information about her new home she learned brought up six more questions.

Winn flopped back onto his back. “Well, you’re going to need a guardian of some sort. Or a fake one, because it will throw up all sorts of flags living alone at your age, not to mention the kid.”

“I do not trust anyone to tell them about being an alien and to give them power over me.”

“Huh. I agree with you there.” Winn sighed and pursed his lips. “I guess we could make you an emancipated minor. They would probably want to talk to your guardian at some point, anyway, so using a fake would create all sorts of problems.”

Kara reached into the pod for her personal pad and began taking notes, sending phrases off to the AI to research.

Winn watched in fascination as she scribbled with one hand and used the other to tickle Kal, who giggled so hard he started floating.

Winn scrunched his nose. “What have you been doing with Clark while you’re at work? And what are you going to do when you start school? I don’t think most babysitters could handle the floating and the biting through steel.” Winn gestured at the teething ring that had been bitten in half.

Kara pointed at a mess of metal and electronics. “He shall be raised by the family . . . robot, I think is the correct word. It is as I was raised.”

“You were raised by robots? That explains so much!”

Kara huffed. “They were customized to teach and play and care and were completely dedicated to service of our house! All the great houses had them! Kal will be raised learning of Rao and our history and speak kryptahniuo as his first language! He will be taught the hymns of praise and the prayers of gratitude! He will learn how to travel the stars and care for our earth!”

Winn gulped. Kara was glaring fiercely at her pad and her eyes were glowing red.

“Your robot can do all that?” Winn ventured.

Kara sighed and all the tension and grandeur leaked out of her body. “Once I get it working, yes. The pod intelligence is good but has no physical form, so it is not effective for long periods of nannying.”

“I can help,” Winn said. “Between the two of us, we can get you all ready for school. Get your paperwork, fix the robot, find you a place to live!”

Kara smiled gratefully. She was so lucky to have become Winn’s friend. “What do you suggest we start with?”

“First, we get you a PO box. Then birth certificates for you and Kal. You might want to think about going by a different name. It depends on how much you want to stand out, really. Then social security cards. Then we can run through the emancipation process and fake you some school transcripts and get you a state ID card. You’ll need some money, for lockers and books, and stuff. Do you have a bank account? You should be able to get one once you’re emancipated. Oh and somewhere to live, to prove residency.”

“How do you know all this?” Kara asked. He had not done any research, obviously, since the subject had just come up.

Winn looked away. “I tried applying for emancipation last year. They denied me and my dad got super pissed. It’s no biggy. Anyway, I know what you’ll need and what it will take to sneak you into the system.”

“I cannot just apply as you did?”

“Oh no! You’ll be scrutinized within an inch of your life! I’ll just hack it.”

Kara blinked. English colloquialisms were so odd. She was slowly getting better at understanding them, but she was not entirely sure what he meant.

“You mean that they would examine me closely if I were to apply? And to prevent this, you will do it illegally?”

“Yeah!” Winn nodded eagerly. “I can make the system think you had a successful application, and it’ll send you the paperwork, and then if anyone checks with the database, you’ll be in there.”

“You can do that? Without being traced? I do not wish for you to get in trouble. Or to be found.”

Winn shuffled his feet. “I can do it, sure. I dunno about not being traced. Maybe if your AI helped?”

“Of course,” Kara replied.

 

\---

 

Kara cautiously approached the school, gripping the door lightly and pulling it open slowly, praying that it didn’t break. She had hoped Winn would come with her, but he had insisted that it would be better for her if people didn’t associate her with him. “No need to start off the school year at the bottom of the pack,” was how he had put it.

All of her new paperwork was carefully stored in her ratty backpack, along with snacks for Kal and a few (hardier) toys.

The building was quiet, with a musty smell, and her footsteps echoed through the hall. The office was as easy to find as Winn had said, and she was even more cautious with that door. The woman sitting behind the counter looked up as Kara came in.

“Hello, dearie, what can I help you with?”

Kara swallowed. “Hello. I need to register for school. I just moved here.”

“All right, let me get you an application. Do you have all your paperwork with you, or will you need to come back?”

Kara hefted her backpack. “I think I have everything.”

“That’s great!” The woman smiled and led her to a table in the corner of the room, placing a stack of papers on it. “You just fill these out and let me know if you need any help.”

Kara took her time with the forms, being very careful not to press the pen down too hard and to make her letters round and even and to not grip it too tightly. She was very lucky that Kal ate his snacks and fell asleep quickly, so she did not have to worry about him breaking things too.

When she was done, she passed over the form and all of the paperwork. Birth certificate (official, but with a made up last name and place of birth and birthday), proof of residency (a utility bill and the lease to her new single room house on the edge of the woods. Kara didn’t know who Winn had blackmailed to get it, but the rent was low and it was far enough out of the way to hide any alien accidents and had a shed where she could store the pods), her emancipation papers (which had been very hard to get and only arrived in the mail the day before), transcripts (good grades, but not too good, and from a school in a large city), and an immunization record (completely fake, but with the name of the local hospital and clinic. Winn had managed to assign her to a Dr. Griffin, but she had yet to meet this doctor).

The woman accepted the papers and bustled about making copies while Kara bounced Kal and worried her lip. Would she notice they were fake? Would she ask questions about being emancipated? Would she try to play with Kal and get her finger broken? Kara was still apologizing to Winn about that.

The woman came back and eyed Kara and Kal thoughtfully. “Everything looks in order. Come back on Tuesday at 10 for orientation. You’ll get your schedule and locker then and pay the fees. Welcome to Neodesha High School.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’ve never actually tried to be an emancipated minor, so I just sort of handwaved all of that. She would need all of those different forms, though, to register for high school. Beuracracy sucks, man.  
> I used [this](http://kryptonian.info/news-feed.html/2013/07/29/measuring-time-on-krypton/) to determine Kara’s age, with the assumption that she was nearly 14 in Earth years when she arrived, and Clark was about 6 months.


	27. Halloween

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shoutout to MonkeyDance78 for brainstorming this chapter with me. I have the best writing support group, no lie.

“Bothgar, stay!” Alex held her hand out firmly and Bothgar obediently stopped in place.

“Good boy,” Alex continued, lowering her hand. “Now, down.”

Bothgar flopped to the ground and the grateful mail carrier carefully stepped around him to hand Alex a handful of envelopes, flyers, and bills.

Alex smiled in thanks and tossed him a piece of candy from the bowl on the porch. He wished Alex a cheerful “Happy Halloween” before striding back down the walk and over to the next house.

Alex absentmindedly shuffled through the mail, gazing frequently at Kara, who was balancing on a step-ladder and draping decorations around the porch.

There was one envelope Alex didn’t recognize, the sort that held a card and not a bill. Alex flipped the envelope over and scrunched her eyebrows together. “That’s odd.”

“What’s odd?” Kara asked through a mouthful of nails.

“It’s from my mom.” Alex pulled out her pocket knife and slit open the envelope, sliding the card out. It had a cluster of cartoon witches on the front and read _Best Witches_ . She flipped it open and saw that it read _For a Happy Halloween_ inside. Below the printed words her mother had written a short note. _“I pulled out our old Halloween decorations the other day and found the animatronic ghost you made in middle school. I’ve placed him on the porch and have great expectations of scaring the trick or treaters with him. I hope you have a good Halloween. Love, Mom.”_

Alex blinked in surprise and pulled out her phone.

“Hey, Mom. I got your card.”

. . .

“Yeah, the kids are going trick or treating and the gang is going to hang out at my place and pass out candy.”

. . .

“Well, Kara was pretty insistent about costumes and said I couldn’t just throw on my lab coat and be a doctor.”

. . .

“We’re going as characters from the Wizard of Oz. The books, not the movies. Kara will be Dorothy, her dog makes a good Toto, _don’t you, you handsome fellow_ ,” Alex cooed at Bothgar before turning back to the phone. “And Kara had an extra Tin-Man costume, so.” Alex shrugged.

. . .

“You’re dressing up as a witch? No way!”

. . .

“I’ll send you pictures, if you return the favor. I’m sure Kara will take loads.”

. . .

“Happy Halloween. Bye, Mom.”

Alex hung up the phone and walked back over to Kara. “That was surprisingly non-confrontational.”

Kara hopped down from the stepladder and nudged Alex. “Well, good. It’s Halloween. No confrontation here.”

Alex cocked an eyebrow. “The whole idea of Trick or Treat is confrontation.”

“Pssshh.” Kara waved her hand and hoisted up the step-ladder, taking it back to her truck.

Alex gestured to the decorations. “It looks really good. Thanks for helping.”

“Of course! I love Halloween!” Kara effused. “It’s the only time of year it’s cool to be different!”

Alex nodded in agreement. Of course Kara would relate to the holiday where people dressed up as aliens or witches or other characters with special abilities.

 

As they stood there admiring their work, Clark ran up to the porch. “Did you bring my costume? And my overnight bag? Is dinner ready? When are the others coming?”

“Dinner will be ready in about an hour, which is when I told everyone else to show up. Yes, I have your costume and other stuff.” Kara replied. “Now go wash up and thank Alex for letting us use her house and feeding us.”

Clark rolled his eyes and opened his mouth, but Kara kept talking. “Behave like the gentleman I know you can be. We are guests here and Alex is being very kind.”

Clark scrunched his face, but turned to Alex. “Thank you for hosting tonight.”

“You’re welcome,” Alex replied placidly. “Bathroom is in the back on the left and your costume is on the table.”

 

They spent the next while finishing decorating the small house. They put gravestones and jack ‘o lanterns in the yard, ran orange lights along the porch rails and windows, draped cobwebs over everything (despite Alex’s protests that there were enough real ones and was this really necessary), and made sure there were pumpkins, ghosts, bats, witches, and skeletons in every corner. Clark helped, after spending half an hour in the tiny bathroom adjusting his Thor costume to perfection. He even had a realistic Mjolner (created by Kara in exchange for getting his journalism teacher to send a note to Cat Grant). The hammer was steel and leather and engraved -- via heat vision -- with the proper symbols and probably too heavy for him to be swinging around that casually. It took Alex and Kara all of five minutes to get their costumes on.

Their humongous pizza order eventually arrived, and with it, a few friends. Winn showed up in a realistic-down-to-the-buttons-1940s-version Captain America uniform and Jimmy was right behind him with a jewel stuck to his forehead and cape swishing behind, pretending to phase through objects as Vision. Lois was classic Marilyn Monroe, which had Clark drooling a bit, and Lucy and Vasquez came as a pair of Holyhead Harpies beaters.

The pizza was devoured, the snacks were arranged, the theme music was started, and the kids were finally allowed to leave.

Kara hovered at the door as the kids bounced on the sidewalk. “Do you want to take Bothgar with you trick or treating?”

Clark shook his head. “Nah, he’ll just get in the way.”

“Are you sure?”

Clark nodded. “We’re meeting up with some friends at the corner, we each have our cell phones on, and you’ve taught us all self-defense. We’ll be fine.”

Kara chewed her lip. “Okay, but the minute there is trouble . . .”

“I will call you,” Clark finished. The other two nodded eagerly.

“Fine. Go. Have fun. Call me when you get back to Jimmy’s tonight.”

The kids cheered and ran off whooping. Alex sidled up next to Kara and wrapped her arms around Kara’s waist, resting her chin on Kara’s shoulder. So what if she had to stretch a bit to do it? It was comfortable.

“First time letting him trick or treat by himself?” Alex asked.

“Yeah.” Kara rubbed Alex’s hands. “How old were you when you trick or treated without your parents?”

Alex frowned in thought. “Well, my dad came with me up through fourth grade, I think? Then I spent a couple years going with friends and occasionally they would have a parent along. I mostly stopped going by the time I was in high school.”

“We didn’t have Halloween where I’m from,” Kara admitted. “It was very confusing the first year I moved here. The next year was much more fun. I started taking Clark trick or treating the next year, when he was three, and ended up eating most of his candy.”

“Mmm.” Alex squeezed Kara gently.

A shout from inside caught their intention. “You two stop making-out out there and come inside!”

They walked back into the living room, Kara glaring at Lucy. “We weren’t making out.”

“Yeah, right.” Lucy snorted.

Alex shifted uncomfortably and hurried into the kitchen, pulling a couple of beers out of the fridge and checking to make sure she’d put the whiskey in the freezer.

Kara glared at Lucy until a knock on the door broke the tension. Kara flung it open to hear a chorus of “Trick or Treat!” and d’awwed at the cute group of kids being herded by two harried adults.

 

The evening soon took up a smooth rhythm. They ate and drank and played ridiculous card games, rotating through who got up to answer the door when trick or treaters came by. It was much like a regular game night, but with added costumes, sweets, and pauses to fawn over the latest group of kids. There was more than enough candy to go around (Alex had gone a little overboard, but in her defense, she fully expected Kara to eat most of it and she was not wrong).

Abby and Raven come by fairly early in the evening. They were escorting a whole group of kids - friends of Clarke’s from school. Abby and Raven were dressed up as Han and Leia from ‘Return of the Jedi’ while Clarke was Poe and her best friend Lexa was Rey from ‘Force Awakens'. They chatted on the porch for a bit before heading to their next house. Lexa demonstrated her impressive skills with her single stick and Raven admitted that her replica blaster was a little less “replica” and a little more “actually functioning”.

 

The trick or treaters petered off as the night got later, and eventually Alex turned off the porch lights and locked the door. She glanced back into the living room as she took the candy bowl into the kitchen and was met with Kara’s pout and grabby hands. Alex laughed and presented Kara with the bowl, before curling up next to her on the couch. Kara adjusted so she could have one arm around Alex’s shoulders and one hand free to eat candy.

Lucy suggested a drinking game and Alex enthusiastically agreed. There may be less embarrassing ways to learn about your friends, but this was certainly one of the fastest. Alex extracted herself from Kara and headed into the kitchen to grab the alcohol and some cups. Winn followed her in.

“So,” Winn said, once they’d reached the relative privacy of the kitchen. “You are Kara are dating.”

“No, we’re not.”

“You were holding hands at the water park.”

“Friends do that!” Alex protested.

“You don’t with me,” Winn suggested.

“We’re friends?” Alex couldn’t help blurting out.

Winn rolled his eyes. “You are as bad as Kara. Perfect match, anyone? Yes, we’re friends!”

“Oh.”

“And, since we’re friends, you can dish on all the relationship details! When did Kara ask you to be her girlfriend?” Winn leaned up against the kitchen counter and waited expectantly.

“I’m not her girlfriend,” Alex said.

“You were cuddling on the porch together. And on the couch. And at the dinner table.”

“I’m not her girlfriend.”

“Bothgar likes you better than me and I’ve known him since he was a pup!”

“So? I’m not her girlfriend!” Alex slammed the freezer shut and shoved the bottle of whiskey at Winn.

Winn raised his eyebrows like he didn’t believe her, but let it be.

 

Naturally, their drinking games devolved into arguing about which Hogwarts house they would get sorted into.

“Kara. You’re a Hufflepuff. There’s no contest there.” Winn banged his hand emphatically.

“But I want to be a Ravenclaw!” Kara’s lip jutted out into a pout and her eyes grew unbelievably big. “They have their rooms up in the tower and they have to answer riddles and all they care about is learning and growing!”

“I’d be a Slytherin,” Lucy said with no hesitation. “Vasquez and Winn would both be Ravenclaws, Kara, you’re a Hufflepuff through and through, and I’m not sure about Alex.”

“Slytherin,” Alex said. “Pretty sure I’d be Slytherin.” she sent a sly look over to Lucy and Lucy quirked an eyebrow. “That could be fun.”

“No,” Kara said, sharply. “You two cannot both be Slytherin, you’d take over the world.”

“You say that like I want to take over the world,” Lucy complained. “Can you imagine the bureaucracy?”

Alex leaned forward. “Ah, but if we were in charge, we could just get rid of it. Or make someone else deal with it.”

Lucy grinned. “Oh, I like that idea! Think of the laws I could get rid of!”

“Pour more funding into education . . .” Alex trailed off. “Do you want to do a coup or get elected first? As a military woman and a lawyer, I bet we could get you elected easily.”

Lucy drained her glass of whiskey. “Run for city council, then mayor, then state rep . . .”

“Then governor, then president. Or you could go DA, senator, president?”

Lucy brightened. “Oh, I like that idea! Now, once I’m president, we’ll just have to give the executive branch more power! Perhaps through a disaster?”

The two women pulled out their phones and started researching famous dictators, tactics, and terrorist attacks.

Kara and Vasquez stood up.

“Trade you?” Vasquez suggested.

“Yes.” Kara nodded and bodily picked up Lucy, hauling her out the front door.

Vasquez tugged lightly on Alex’s arm and led her into the bedroom.

 

Vasquez sat Alex down on the bed. Alex looked at her, completely baffled.

“What’s going on?”

Vasquez settled down next to Alex on the bed. “We didn’t want either of you getting too many flags.”

“Huh?”

“What you were researching throws up some flags for NSA. Plan to take over the world all you want, but do it on a more secure connection please.”

“Oh. Okay.” Alex flopped back on the bed and stared up at the ceiling. Vasquez joined her.

“I really like Kara,” Alex admitted.

“I can tell,” Vasquez replied. She was a good listener and this was not the first time someone had confessed things to her.

“Like really like her.” Alex continued.

“I think you’re drunk.”

“She wants to be girlfriends.”

“What do you want?”

“I don’t want to get hurt again.”

Vasquez snorted. “You don’t really think Kara would ever intentionally hurt you?”

“No, but what if I hurt her?”

“As long as it’s not intentional you can work through it.”

“You sure?”

“Yes. You should hear some of the fights Lucy and I have had. It’s work, yeah, but it’s not impossible. Or inevitable.”

Alex hummed and then fell silent. Vasquez glanced over, but Alex was still awake, staring at the ceiling.

“C’mon,” Vasquez said. “You can ponder while I kick your butt at Phase 10.”

 

-

 

“What’d you do that for?” Lucy complained, once Kara set her down outside.

“Because if you’re going to take over the world, or at least the country, you need to do when you’re sober and not on a traditional internet connection. Use my computers, or at least Winn’s. We don’t need you getting arrested before you get started, and if you bring any harm to Alex at all, I’ll throw you in jail myself.”

Lucy pouted. “Fine.”

“Good.”

Lucy nudged Kara. “Speaking of Alex . . .”

“What?”

“How long have you two been dating?”

Kara sputtered.

Lucy laughed.

“We’re not dating,” Kara grumbled, shoving at Lucy.

“Seriously? You act like you are.”

“We’re sort of pre-dating.”

Lucy snorted. “That’s ridiculous.”

“Her last relationship ended really badly.”

Lucy's face softened. "Ah. You'll be gentle then."

Kara cocked her head. "Sounds like they're starting a new game."

"Oh good, I need to thoroughly destroy you again."

"As if!"

 

-

 

Winn left just before midnight and Lucy and Vasquez not much later.

Alex flopped her head against the back of the couch and gazed at Kara. “Stay the night?”

Kara blinked and her mouth dropped open. “Oh, golly.”

“Just to sleep,” Alex assured her. “And maybe a proper date tomorrow? Because we’ve basically been acting like girlfriends and I don’t want to date anyone else. It scares me to death, to be in a relationship again, but maybe we could start with going on a couple actual official real dates?”

“Uh.” This was more than Kara expected, but she should have known better. Alex was the bravest person she knew.

“Oh, but you have the animals to take care of!” Alex said.

“As long as I stop by in the morning, they’ll be fine,” Kara said. “I’ve done some automation on the farm, since it’s just me.” She’d already arranged for Kryptos to take care of the animals that evening, so she shot him a message to do it all the next day too. He would complain, of course, that he had been programmed for teaching and security, not animal care, but would also do anything someone from the House of El commanded him.

“So, staying the night and a date?”

Kara smiled. “I would love that.”


	28. The Great Alien Reveal

Alex woke up with something warm pressed up against her back and something warm draped across her feet. She craned her neck and found that the something warm against her back was Kara and the something warm across her feet was Bothgar, who was happily taking up the bottom third of the bed. Alex wriggled a little, reveling in the warmth and companionship. That was what she had missed most about having a girlfriend, curling up in bed together, holding each other, and just sleeping, sharing comfort.

Alex thought back to the night before. It had been surprisingly un-awkward as they cleaned up the house, working easily in tandem. Alex had taken Bothgar out for one last walk while Kara tamped the fire down and did the dishes. An extra pair of pajamas and toothbrush had been found, and they took turns using the bathroom before sliding into Alex’s bed. Bothgar had looked so wanting to, that Alex invited him up to sleep with them. After making sure it was okay with Kara, of course.

A hand snaked around Alex’s waist, interrupting her thoughts. Kara pulled Alex back, moving her without any apparent effort, and tucked her face into Alex’s hair.

“Good morning,” Alex said, a smile in her voice.

Kara mumbled into Alex’s neck. “Mornin’ ‘Lex.”

Alex looked over at the clock on her bedside table. “I think it’s time to get up.”

“Nooooooooo.” Kara groaned. Her breath tickled Alex’s ear.

“If we don’t get up, we can’t have breakfast,” Alex suggested.

There was a considering pause.

“What kind of breakfast?” Kara asked.

“I have some of those frozen breakfast sandwiches. And leftovers from last night. And whatever Halloween candy you didn’t eat.”

“Hmmm.” Kara tucked herself more completely around Alex.

Alex chuckled. “You know I can’t cook. We could go to the diner.”

Kara smiled against Alex’s neck. “Yeah, let’s do that. And plan a time for you to come over for your next cooking lesson.”

They lay in silence for a bit before Alex squirmed out of Kara’s arms. “I’ll take Bothgar out!”

Kara rolled onto her back and watched fondly as Alex roughhoused with Bothgar before grabbing his leash, stuffing her feet into tennis shoes, and jogging out the front.

 

They’d gotten dressed and cleaned up and were just about to head to the diner when Alex’s phone rang.

“Dr. Danvers.”

. . .

“Oh, hi, Betsy.”

. . .

“I understand.”

. . .

“I’ll be right there.”

Alex hung up the phone and turned to Kara with an apologetic look on her face.

“You have to go in, don’t you,” Kara said.

Alex nodded. “I’m sorry. But it shouldn’t take too long. Maybe we can still go out after? You could go do your farm stuff while I’m at the hospital and then I can come pick you up? I really want to go on a date with you.”

“Yes!” Kara nodded eagerly. “Absolutely. I really want to go on a date with you too.”

Alex sighed in relief. “Good. Okay then. I’ll head out to the hospital, you’ll go home and take care of the farm, and I will see you later.”

Kara reached for the door, then paused, before heading back into the kitchen and opening the freezer, pulling out two of those horrid microwavable breakfast sandwiches.

“Even though this food personally offends me, it’s better than nothing,” Kara said while sliding them into the microwave. “You are going to eat these before you go to the hospital. Or in the car on the way over at the very least.”

Alex smiled. “All right, all right.”

Kara swept her up into a hug and kissed her cheek. “Good. Be safe, save lives, and I will see you later.”

 

Alex did indeed eat the greasy sandwiches in the car on her way to work and used a couple of the baby wipes from the glove box to clean herself up. The ER was as busy as usual, perhaps a little more so, dealing with all the Halloween fallout. She waved to the nurse behind the desk and ducked into the locker room to change into a pair of scrubs.

She checked in with Betsy and was pointed towards an exam room. It was a patient she had stitched up a few days ago. Apparently, he’d gotten drunk on Halloween, popped his stitches, and hadn’t noticed until he’d gone to change his bandages in the morning.

Alex cleaned and stitched the wound, again, and scolded him firmly about not doing anything that could pop the stitches again. As it was, it would already take longer to heal and scar more than expected.

She changed back into street clothes and swung by Betsy’s office to sign a few things.

“What are you so nervous about?” Betsy asked as Alex flipped through the pages.

“Who says I’m nervous?” Alex rejoined.

“You’ve been glancing at the clock roughly every thirty seconds and your leg is bouncing.”

Alex passed the stack of papers over and bit her lip.

Betsy just smiled.

Alex sighed. “I’ve got a date.”

“Oh?”

“With Kara.”

“Ohhh.”

“Yeah.” Alex rubbed the back of her neck.

“Did you ask her or did she ask you?”

“I asked her.” Alex paused. “This is going to be all over town within ten minutes, isn’t it.”

Betsy did not deny it. “Half the town thinks you’re dating already anyway. Of the other half, most of those are children.”

“Of course.” Alex tapped her pen on the desk. “No pressure or anything.”

Betsy smiled and patted Alex’s hand. “It’ll be fine. That girl looks at you like you’re the sun and sky.”

Alex shook her head. “Thanks, I think. I’ll see you Monday.”

 

-

 

Kara whistled all the way home. She squealed at Bothgar and bragged to Kryptos as she sped through the barn, checking on the animals. <<I’ve got a date with Alex!>>

<<You are officially courting?>> Kryptos clarified.

<<Yes!>> Kara spun around. <<I know you don’t like her, but I do.>>

<<This human makes you happy?>> Kryptos asked.

<<Utterly.>>

Kryptos clacked his attachments and trundled toward the corner of the barn. <<Now that you’re here, I don’t need to inhabit this primitive robot anymore.>>

<<You don’t like the upgrades?>> Kara asked.

<<I had the best models available to me on Krypton.>> Kryptos bemoaned. <<Rows of machines, carefully calibrated and designed for whichever task I am set to. Here, here, I have two! Merely two! An out-dated nanny model and this thing!>> Kryptos gestured to his stout body and rough cut legs.

Kara patted him on the head. <<We’re working on a new one, it’s just we’re trying to upgrade your processors too and take care of the farm and Kal and not let anyone find out about you . . .>>

<<You have told Alexandra.>>

Kara shrugged. <<She’s different.>>

<<Hmph.>>

 

The front door slammed and Kara hurried back into the house.

“Hey, Clark, how was trick or treating?”

“It was great! We got loads of loot, then went to a party at Jimmy’s dad’s friend’s house and played a bunch of games and then we had a sleepover. I think I ate too much candy though; I totally had a stomach ache.” Clark sprawled across the couch.

“Are you okay?” Kara asked, hurrying forward to check his forehead for a fever.

Clark batted her hands away. “Yeah, yeah, I sunbathed for a while, and it went away. I’m fine.”

“Oh, okay. Let me know if anything else hurts?”

Clark rolled his eyes. “Yeah, yeah. How was the party?”

“Good. We played games and passed out candy.” Kara paused for a bit, fiddling with her fingers. “Do you mind staying home alone the rest of today? Kryptos can help with the chores.”

“Where will you be?”

“Alex and I have a date.”

“Oh?” Clark waggled his eyebrows. “A date?”

“Yes.”

“A real date?”

“Yes!”

Clark sniggered. “Wearing that?”

Kara looked down at her beat up jeans and muddy boots and gasped in horror, before speeding up to her room.

She’d barely managed to pick out an outfit (her nicest jeans and cleanest boots and a new white tank covered in her best blue button-up) when there was a knock from the porch.

“I’ll get it!” Kara hollered, dashing down the stairs and flinging the door open.

Alex was rocking back and forth on her heels, her hands clasped behind her back. She was wearing a very-well-fitted pair of black jeans, neon green converse, and a shimmery gray sweater underneath her usual black leather jacket.

Alex pulled her hands from behind her back and held out a bouquet of sunflowers. “Hi.”

Kara melted. “Hi.”

They stared dopily at each other for a few minutes until Clark poked his head around the door and said “Alex? A word, if I may?”

“Sure?”

Clark stepped out onto the porch and glared at Kara. “No eavesdropping.”

He shut the door and turned to Alex. “Kara really likes you. Like head over heels likes you.”

“Really? You mean that? She really likes me?”

Clark blinked. “Seriously? Of course she likes you! Which is why I’m here.”

“I don’t follow.”

“Don’t hurt her,” Clark said. “Please don’t hurt her. I want her to be happy and you make her happy and she has seen more pain already than anyone can understand, so don’t you dare hurt her.”

Alex opened her mouth before swallowing hastily. “I don’t want to hurt her. I can’t promise I won’t ever because accidents happen.”

“I know,” Clark replied. “But promise to do your best?”

“I promise to do my absolute best to bring a smile to Kara’s face every single day.”

Clark nodded stoically. “Okay. That’s acceptable. You have my blessing.”

 

They entered the house to find Kara standing there beaming, the flowers now in a prominent place on the mantle.

“What happened to no eavesdropping?” Clark grumbled.

“I wasn’t eavesdropping!” Kara protested. “I’m just happy to see you both!” She wrapped Alex and Clark up in a huge hug.

Clark wriggled out pretty quickly and ran upstairs, so Kara shifted until both her arms were wrapped around Alex.

“Thank you for the flowers.” Kara murmured in Alex’s ear. “They’re beautiful.”

“Beautiful flowers for a beautiful woman,” Alex mumbled back, causing Kara to sigh happily.

They stood together for a bit, just enjoying the feeling of being wrapped up in each other's’ arms.

“Do we have plans for the day?” Kara eventually asked.

“Uh, I thought we would start at the Wichita Art museum, eat lunch there, maybe wander around old town depending on how long we take at the museum, grab dinner, and then go to the convention center to see Stomp.”

Kara hummed. “That sounds wonderful.”

 

The two-hour car ride to Wichita was filled with conversation, which was rather astounding to Alex. After all, they had spent most of the day before together and talked regularly through text and phone calls. Usually, people got bored of talking with her after that long.

Alex was quite pleased with her plan for the day when Kara squealed (actually, literally, squealed) at the art museum. She grabbed Alex’s hand and tugged her through the exhibits, exclaiming over that piece, staring in awe at another.

They took a break to get lunch at the museum cafe. Kara scooched her chair around the table so that she could sit with her leg pressed up against Alex’s. Alex blushed lightly and hid her face in the menu. When the waiter arrived, Kara ordered one of everything. Alex got a sandwich and a cup of coffee. They decided to split a cheesecake for dessert. Yes, a whole one, not just a slice.

As the waiter delivered the cheesecake he asked in a strained voice “Will that be all?”

Alex smiled at him kindly. “Just the bill, please. And we’ll be paying together.”

“I’ll get that right to you.” he replied.

Kara squawked. “I can pay for my own meal!”

Alex firmly stated. “I asked you, therefore I pay.”

“But I eat so much!” Kara said. “It’s not fair to expect you to pay.”

Alex leaned forward and rested her hand on Kara’s upper thigh, her chest lightly brushing against Kara’s arm as Alex whispered in her ear. “Please let me do this for you?”

Kara gulped. Stammered. Tried to focus on words and logic instead of the warmth of Alex pressing up against her and soft breath ghosting across her ear.

“Anything you want!” Kara finally gasped out.

Alex sat back, a pleased smirk on her face as she passed her credit card over to the server.

Her hand stayed on Kara’s thigh.

 

They spent the next few hours looking at the museum’s glass exhibit. Alex was fascinated with the glass blowing process and Kara couldn’t tear her eyes away from the delicate scenes that graced the sides of bowls and vases and other pieces that were pure art.

Their hands stayed entwined the entire time, their bodies swaying away and towards each other in a sort of dance. They were stopped in front of a gorgeous vase, leaning against each other, when a docent stopped by to remind them that the museum closed in five minutes, but the gift shop was open until six.

Alex reluctantly pulled Kara away from the glass and towards the gift shop. They browsed for a few minutes. Alex got distracted by the books and Kara drifted towards the jewelry. They met back up at the entrance some twenty minutes later, each with a small museum store bag in hand.

“What did you get?” Kara asked, interestedly, as they drove towards the convention center.

“Oh, you’ll see later,” Alex said. “What did you get?”

Kara grinned. “You’ll see later.”

Alex chuckled.

“The show starts at 7:30,” Alex explained as they parked. “Which gives us time to have some dinner and maybe explore a bit before we have to be seated.”

“How’d you manage to get tickets?” Kara asked, wrapping her arms around Alex as Alex tucked their purchases away in the back of her station wagon. “I’ve heard really good things about Stomp, but I thought they’d be sold out.”

Alex lifted a shoulder. “Made a couple calls. Thought it would be something you’d like.”

Kara nuzzled Alex’s neck and smiled. “You’re the best.”

 

Dinner was scrumptious and the concert was amazing. Kara had heard of Stomp, but hadn’t seen more than a youtube clip or two. Seeing them in concert was really something else. Some of the rhythms reminded her of Krypton’s music, but others were completely new. The acrobatics were fascinating. Kara knew humans could do amazing stuff, but every time she saw something new she was astounded all over again. Every time something excited her, she’d squeeze Alex’s hand. Alex squeezed back every time.

After the show, they walked down the streets. Kara flung out her arms and spun around.

“That was so COOL!” she exclaimed. “The beats and the movement . . .” Kara did a quick imitation of a couple of Stomp’s steps.

Alex shoved her hands in her pockets and strolled along, smiling at Kara. “I’m glad you enjoyed it.”

“You’re really good at this,” Kara replied, slowing down to meet Alex and tucking her hand through Alex’s arm.

“Good at what?” Alex asked.

“The whole dating thing. Even our pre-dates were great. You’re kind and smart and pay attention to what I like and don’t like and then use that knowledge to take me out on the best dates! You love Bothgar and he loves you, and you’re so conscientious of Clark and the farm and understand  that I can’t spend all my time on you, as much as I would like to.”

“Uh.”

Kara kept going. “And you know your limits and desires and explain them to me so I can be sure not to push you too hard or anything. You’re super good at communicating, and know how to keep a confidence.”

“You’re showing me how to be better,” Alex explained, as she steered Kara down the street.

Kara snuggled closer and hid her blushing face in Alex’s shoulder.

“Where’d we park?” Alex asked as they wandered.

Kara scanned the area, before firmly pointing to their left. “That way. About five blocks.”

“Okay.” Alex turned down the next alley in the correct direction, walking as closely as she could to Kara.

When they got to the car, instead of unlocking it, Alex leaned up against the driver’s door, entangling both her hands with Kara’s.

“I had a really good time tonight,” Alex said.

“I did too,” Kara said.

Alex swung their connected hands slightly. “I think . . . I think I might be ready for a relationship.”

“Yeah?” Kara tried to hide her excitement.

“Yeah. I know I said I wanted to go on a couple actual real dates before going further, but this was a really good day. You were totally cool about me having to go into work, I got Clark’s approval, we talked for hours and didn’t run out of topics. But most of all, you make me want to be better for me. I’ve never felt like that before.”

There was a pause while Alex stared at Kara with a half hopeful, half nervous look on her face.

“Can I kiss you?” Kara blurted.

Alex’s smile lit up her face. “Yes.”

Kara leaned forward, resting her hands on Alex’s hips. Alex’s hands slid up her arms to wrap around Kara’s neck as she met her halfway.

The first kiss was light and gentle and chaste, just the barest press of lips.

The second kiss was a little deeper, a little firmer, and a little longer.

The third kiss had Kara pulling at Alex to bring their bodies closer together.

Kara sunk into the intimacy. She was 87% sure she was falling in love with Alex, which was an exhilarating feeling. The chemistry was just . . . WOW . . . and Alex was  _ so _ smart and kind and brave and  _ liked _ her. Their relationship even had the important aspects of honesty and communication! Which meant she probably should tell Alex she was an alien. That was the sort of thing significant others should know.

With that thought, Kara mumbled her confession against Alex’s lips.

“Hmmm?” Alex asked, before moving into another kiss.

Kara leaned her head away, but her hands pulled Alex closer.

Alex just changed to peppering kisses along Kara’s jaw and neck.

Kara finally forced a slight distance between them. There would be time for kissing after they discussed her extra-terrestrial origins.

Alex traced her fingers across the nape of Kara’s neck, glowing with that “just kissed” look.

Kara stared at Alex, a dopey smile on her face. 

Alex leaned up and gave her another quick kiss.

Kara shook herself out of her trance. “So, um, I have something to tell you before we make this official.”

Alex gave her a questioning look. “Okay?”

Kara took a deep breath. “I’m an alien.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, shoutout to my usual suspects with the brainstorming and helping me writing. You all are the best!  
> I was thinking [this](https://68.media.tumblr.com/d7bdc9fbf56f8f62a008b8fceb5f5500/tumblr_messaging_op1lil1aQq1ra1lr4_250.png) for what Alex was wearing and [this](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMjE2MzA2NTYxOV5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTcwMTcyODM5Ng@@._V1_UY1200_CR83,0,630,1200_AL_.jpg) for Kara.


	29. So Happy Together

Alex didn’t respond for half a minute, and Kara could practically see the wheels turning in Alex’s head as she processed what Kara had said.

Kara had the sudden realization that she should not have brought this up 100 miles from home. She should have done it somewhere where she could successfully run away. Or where she wouldn’t get stranded if her date decided to dump her over this. Was it too late to pass the whole thing off as a joke?

Finally, Alex nodded, “That makes sense.” She lightly kissed the corner of Kara’s mouth. “Thank you for telling me.”

“Um,” Kara said. That was not the reaction she was expecting. “What?”

Alex continued, understandingly, as if she had expected some confusion. “Well, I knew you weren’t human. I wasn’t sure what you were, but alien makes sense. As opposed to meta-human or mutant or something.”

“You, you knew?” Kara stammered.

“I guessed, but I was pretty sure.”

“And you don’t care?”

“Not at all. I like you and I want to date you.”

Alex was happy and relaxed, still bathing in the afterglow of their make-out session. She slid one hand off Kara’s neck and gently cupped Kara’s face, running her thumb across Kara’s cheek.

“I’m really glad you trusted me with this. You know, it’s such a big part of you and so special and personal that telling me must have been really hard.”

“But you knew I wasn’t human.”

“That doesn’t make it any easier for you to tell me.”

Kara nibbled her lip nervously. “Who have you told about me?”

“I haven’t said a word.” Alex rubbed soothingly at Kara’s back while giving Kara another kiss to stop the nibbling. “And I promise I won’t tell anyone without your explicit permission.”

Kara breathed deeply. “I’m kind of freaking out here.”

Alex cast her a worried look and her hand increased its soothing rubs. “That’s understandable. This is a big thing.”

“You’re supposed to be the one freaking out!” Kara whined. “I just told you I’m an alien! Earth doesn’t know about life on other planets yet! This should be confusing for you! Why am I the one freaking out?”

Kara groaned, slumping into Alex and dropping her head onto Alex’s shoulder. “I’m going to have to think about this.”

“Take your time.” Alex kept her hands comfortingly on Kara’s back.

“We should get home,” Kara said. “I can process while we drive.”

“Okay.” Alex kissed Kara softly on her temple before unlocking the car and helping Kara in.

 

It was only when they had gotten much closer to Neodesha that Alex spoke up again. “Do you want me to drop you at your place?”

Kara, who had been running through the mental exercises of Torquasm-Rao, looked up. “Yes, please. Kryptos was being grumpy about me being gone and I should spend some time with Clark.”

“Sure.” Alex quickly navigated the streets until they arrived at the farm.

Alex walked Kara up to the front door, where Kara lingered. “You’re amazing, you know that?”

Alex shrugged. “I think you’re the amazing one.”

“Mmm.” Kara tucked her fingers into the pockets of Alex’s leather jacket and pulled lightly.

Alex swayed into her, steadying herself with hands on Kara’s biceps.

Kara dipped her head down and brushed her lips across Alex’s. “No, you are.”

Alex smiled and pressed into Kara. “Stop talking and kiss me.”

 

They were a good ten minutes into a makeout session that was only getting more heated when the porch lights flashed.

Kara growled, but Alex just chuckled. “Time for you to go inside, I guess.”

Kara stole another kiss. “If I must.”

She kissed Alex again. “See you tomorrow?”

“Definitely,” Alex said before kissing Kara one last time and reluctantly pulling away.

“Drive safely,” Kara said.

Alex walked backwards to the car, never taking her eyes off Kara. She stumbled and turned around, climbing into her car. She waved goodbye one more time before carefully driving off into the night.

Kara leaned up against the porch post and followed her all the way home with her x-ray vision.

 

_ -the next morning- _

 

Kara eagerly picked up when her phone rang. “Hey, sweetie. Good morning.”

There was a happy sigh through the phone.  _ “Hey.” _

“What’s up?”

Alex chuckled.  _ “I forgot to give you your gift last night.” _

“What?”

_ “Your gift. I got you something at the museum gift store.” _

“Well, that’s funny, because I got you something there too.”

Alex laughed.

Kara continued. “Speaking of, I think it’s still in your car. I was kind of . . . distracted . . . last night.”

_ “We should meet up and exchange gifts.” _

“We should.”

_ “Your place or mine?” _

“Yours,” Kara replied. “Mine has nosey cousins and robots that like to eavesdrop.”

_ “Breakfast?” _

“I’ll bring something. I know you haven’t had time to go the grocery since that pathetic excuse for a meal yesterday morning.”

_ “All right. See you soon.” _

 

Kara hopped up onto Alex’s porch with a basket of breakfast foods. Alex opened the door before she even had a chance to knock and greeted her with a kiss.

“Hi,” Kara said, a little dazed, when they finally separated.

“Hey,” Alex said, pulling Kara into the house. “I hope you didn’t get teased too much last night.”

Kara shook her head, placing the food on the dining room table as Alex dug out some dishes. “No, not too much. I told them I’d told you I was an alien and that shut them up pretty quickly.”

“Really?”

“They were surprised you took it so well.”

Alex laughed. “That’ll teach them to underestimate me.”

Kara beamed. “Yep!” She punctuated her statement with a kiss.

They both settled down at the table and dug into the feast provided.

“So, who else knows you’re an alien?” Alex asked after a few bites of sausage.

Kara pursed her lips. “Winn, Lucy, John. Those are the people I’ve told. I suppose some other people could have guessed, but no one has said anything.”

Alex took a sip of her coffee. “Okay.”

Kara looked at Alex a little puzzled. “How’d you figure it out, anyway? I thought I was pretty good at hiding it.”

“You are! It was just a combination of all the little things. I was writing down some observations and then there were my dad’s journals and it all just sort of clicked. I pounded out like ten pages of analysis after that.” Alex laughed self-deprecatingly. “Scientist here, you know.”

Kara frowned. “What kind of observations?”

“Oh, just stuff about your powers: strength and speed and invulnerability. How much you eat, the way you enjoy sunlight. And how that green rock stuff makes you less powerful.”

“You haven’t talked with anyone about this, have you?” Kara asked, cautiously.

“Not a soul,” Alex promised. “And I won’t in the future either.

Kara cocked her head, examining Alex, before nodding. “Okay. I trust you.”

Alex paused. “You don’t want to check my computer or anything?”

Kara scrunched her nose. “For what?”

“To see if I’ve been recording any of this or talking to people or, I dunno, notifying authorities.”

“Why would I do that? I just said I trusted you.” Kara had this cute, little, confused expression on her face that Alex just wanted to kiss. And as that would stop her asking awkward questions, she did so.

A few minutes later, when they made it back to eating breakfast, Alex gathered her courage. “Can I ask some questions?”

“About me and my history and whatnot?”

Alex ducked her head. “Yeah.”

“Short version? I’m from a planet named Krypton. We overmined the core, it collapsed on itself and sort of blew up. Kal and I got put in escape pods. As far as I know, we’re the only two who made it out, though there could have been other escape pods. We got stuck in the Phantom Zone for a while, that’s a place where time doesn’t really exist. Anyway, eventually something knocked us out of the Phantom Zone and we landed here. I raised Kal, got the farm, and you crashed into my fence.”

“Wow.”

“Yeah. We’ve got records with Kryptos if you want more detailed information.”

Alex could tell Kara didn’t want to talk about it so she changed the subject. “Um, what about your physiology?”

“As far as I can tell, humans and Kryptonians are sexually compatible. It’s still theoretical for right now, but eventually I hope to have some real data to work with.”

Alex hid a smile. “ . . . That wasn’t actually what I was asking.”

Kara turned bright red. “Oh Rao, you were asking as a doctor, not as a girlfriend.”

“Well, the girlfriend part of me is very interested in that too.” Alex waggled her eyebrows.

Kara laughed awkwardly, hiding her face until Alex gently pried her hands away and gave her a sweet kiss.

“No pressure, honey,” Alex said. “I’m sorry for embarrassing you.”

“Are we?” Kara asked.

“Are we what?”

“Well, last night you said you were ready for a relationship, and then there was the kissing and the alien thing and we never really talked about the dating part again . . .” Kara trailed off, turning bright red again.

Alex sat back. “Kara, will you be my girlfriend?”

Kara couldn’t get the word out fast enough. “Yes!”

“Oh!” Alex darted up out of her seat and into her bedroom, quickly coming back out with a small wrapped box.

Kara was sitting there, pouting slightly that she hadn’t gotten a celebratory kiss for being official.

Alex leaned over and kissed Kara deeply, tasting the remnants of coffee and chocolate and syrup, and completely wiping away the pout.

She handed Kara the box. “For my girlfriend.”

Kara tore away the paper and eagerly opened the box. Inside was a delicate curl of glass in fiery reds and oranges and yellows. It hung on a braided leather cord. Kara lifted it up, barely allowing herself to breathe.

“It’s gorgeous,” she whispered. “Thank you so much.”

She carefully placed the necklace back in the box, and zipped out of the room, returning only seconds later with her purchase from the museum gift shop.

Alex blinked. “Okay, I knew you were fast, but WOW.”

Kara shrugged. “It’s nice not to have to hold back around you anymore.”

She passed over the bag. “It’s not wrapped, but I did get it for you.”

Alex reached into the bag and pulled out a notepad cover. It was just the perfect size to fit in her lab coat pocket and was etched metal. Alex carefully examined the etching. It wasn’t a picture, just geometric designs swirling around the cover, but Alex thought it very pretty. A matching pen held the case closed. The bag also held a few refill packs and an ink refill for the pen. 

Alex leaned over to give Kara a kiss. She couldn’t help herself. Now that she could, she took every advantage.

“Thank you. It’s perfect.”

Kara wriggled happily in her chair. “You are very welcome. Now can we finish breakfast?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey all, hope you enjoyed the fluff! Our next chapter will be a flashback and the one after that show the beginning of the last couple of arcs, after which there will be some sort of conclusion. Vague, I know, and I don’t know how many chapters there will be, but I do have a plan here. I am also considering making an additional work with a bunch of shorts set in this universe. Flashbacks, cute scenes with Alex and Kara, random cameos . . . what do y’all think?


	30. Meet-Ups, Masochism, and Marvels

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello all! Change of plans here. This is not the flashback chapter because this chapter was finished and the flashback chapter wasn't. Not sure when the flashback chapter will be done, tbh. I've gotten kind of stuck on it. I do have the next few in the main story line sorted out though!  
> That being said, updates are going to start slowing down. I got a real adult full-time with benefits job (yay!) but that means less time for writing. (boo!) I am going to try my hardest to update once a week but it might be slower. I will keep writing and it will be finished, but I won't be able to keep up my previous pace.  
> That's more than enough blab from me. Enjoy!

“Alex!”

Alex looked up from her newspaper. What she saw had her clenching her teeth. “What are _you_ doing here?”

Maggie cocked her hip and leaned up against the table. “Working. I’m with the FBI now.”

“And what does the FBI want with a small town in the middle of nowhere, Kansas?”

“I’m afraid that’s confidential.”

Alex snorted. “In other words, you’re the newbie and you get sent chasing down all the dead ends and anonymous tips, right?”

Maggie’s mouth tightened a little. “It’s more than an anonymous tip. We’re here examining evidence of extra-normal or extra-terrestrial beings.”

Alex started laughing, half in humor and half in bitterness. “And that just coincidentally means you show up in my town. The town I moved to in order to get away from you. The town that literally has nothing happen in."

“It has nothing to do with you.” Maggie snapped. “Strange shit has been happening around here and we’re going to get to the bottom of it.”

Alex took another drink of her coffee as Jess came up with her notepad. She’d thrown on an apron, was chewing gum, and her drawl was a lot thicker when she asked, “What can I get you today, sugar?”

Jess winked at Alex and eyed Maggie with an unimpressed look.

Alex hid a smile. Jess always played up the “Diner Waitress” stereotype when there were visitors in town and it was nice to know she’d been let in on the ploy, despite only being in Neodesha for a few months.

“Grilled cheese and a strawberry shake, please. Oh, and a house salad.”

“Sure thing, sugar.” Jess drawled. She very pointedly didn’t ask Maggie what she wanted.

“Thanks, Jess.”

Alex turned back to her coffee and idly flipped the newspaper to the crossword.

Maggie stared at her for a minute (while Alex filled in six different words) before asking, “So, what are you doing here? I’ve told you my story.”

Alex shrugged. “Work. Not that it’s any of your business.”

Something dark flashed across Maggie’s face and she shifted her weight forward.

A shout from the door caught her attention and stopped whatever it was she was planning on saying. “Sawyer! Let’s go!”

Maggie waved distractedly at the uptight guy in a suit standing in the doorway. “One minute!”

She slid a little closer and forced a smile, flashing her dimples to their best advantage. “We should catch up sometime. Do dinner?”

“You’re not going to be too busy with work?” Alex asked, pointedly glancing towards the (presumably) other FBI agent.

“C’mon, Alex,” Maggie said. “We never did have a chance to talk about stuff. You just up and left. I tried the apartment, I tried your phone, I tried your work. I had to ask your mom to figure out what happened!”

“She always did like you better,” Alex said, focusing hard on her crossword.

Maggie sighed. “Don’t be petulant, princess, I thought you’d grown out of that childishness.” She fished out a business card and dropped it on the table. “Call me.”

 

-

 

Alex pounded on the door. “Kara? Kara?”

Kara swung open the door and stepped out onto the porch. “It’s after midnight, Alex!”

Alex swayed into Kara and took another swallow from her bottle.

“I hate her. I thought I’d dealt with how she made me feel, but then she shows up and does that thing with her smile and her dimples, and calling me ‘princess’ and I just . . .” Alex trailed off, downing another gulp of whiskey.

Kara blinked. “You’re drunk. Incredibly drunk. You didn’t drive here, did you?”

Alex shook her head vehemently, wobbling as she did so. “Of course not. I only do that when I really hate myself. Did you know I didn’t even have to give the Uber guy your address? I said ‘Kara’s house’ and he knew right away where it was!”

“Yeah, lots of people know me,” Kara said, reaching out and removing the bottle from Alex’s hands.

“Noooooo.” Alex protesting, reaching for it.

“How much have you had?” Kara asked.

“Not enough,” Alex stated firmly, stumbling in her attempts to get past Kar to the bottle.

“And why are you drinking?”

Alex's face wrinkled. “Because I’m a no-good alcoholic worthless failure.”

Kara stared. “You know what, we’re going to talk about this later. When you’re sober. Come on.”

Kara picked up Alex and carried her into the house. Alex dug her face into Kara’s neck and whimpered slightly.

“Do you think you’re going to throw up?” Kara asked in a low voice. This was worse than the night at the fair and superspeed could only do so much without warning.

Alex just groaned again and gripped at Kara’s shirt.

Kara rocked her gently and whispered soft words of comfort into Alex’s ear as she carried her up the stairs.

Once inside the spare room, Kara set Alex down. She was hardly on her own feet again before she jerked herself toward the bathroom and was violently ill.

Kara murmured soothing words, held Alex’s hair out of her face, provided a cool damp washcloth, and helped her change into the UFO shirt and boxers that had unofficially become her pajamas.

After throwing up, Alex began crying, quietly, as if she didn’t want to be heard. She changed and gulped down the painkillers and water Kara handed her, but only when prompted. She didn’t seem to be focusing on much of anything, so Kara settled into the bed with her back against the headboard and pulled Alex onto her lap.

Alex clung to Kara. She sobbed for a few minutes before mumbling. “She hurt me, Kar’. She hurt me. She hurt me so much and she doesn’t care.”

Kara tightened her grip as much as she could without harming Alex and held her as she cried.

 

-

 

Kara stayed up all night. The first part of the night she held Alex until Alex fell asleep deeply enough that Kara could leave without waking her. Then she went to the training room, pumped the lights as high as they could go, and pummelled the punching bag until her hands bled and her legs trembled. Then she went to her workshop beneath the house and calculated how many poisons she could make or acquire within the next three hours and made a pro-con list as to the benefits of poison versus a more hands-on approach in murder. Then she meditated, using every bit of Torquasm-Rao she knew until it was time to do the chores. She'd barely made it up to the kitchen when Kal came thundering down the stairs.

<<Keep it down! Alex is still asleep!>>

Kal sniggered. <<Late night?>>

Kara smacked the back of his head. <<Alex is sick. Be respectful! Besides, our physicality is really none of your business.>>

Kal made a face at that thought. <<You're right. I really don't want to imagine you having sex. Alex is really sick?>>

<<Some sort of stomach flu.>>

Kal grimaced. <<Ugh.>>

<<Yeah, and be grateful you’ll never have to deal with it. Now hurry up and get ready.>>

 

After Clark left for school, Kara called the hospital.

. . .

“Hey, Betsy, Dr. Danvers will be taking a sick day today.”

. . .

“She will be, if I can get her to stay in bed!” Kara chuckled. “She was throwing up something awful last night, but insists she’s fine now.”

. . .

“Honestly, probably just some 24-hour bug. I keep telling her she works too hard and this is her body’s way of agreeing with me.”

. . .

“Sure, I’ll let her know.”

. . .

“Uh huh. You too.”

Kara set down the phone and heaved a sigh of relief. It seemed like Betsy had believed her fiction. She glanced up through the ceiling and frowned slightly. Alex still wasn’t up. That wasn’t like her. Alex was asleep, but fitfully. Her heartbeat and breathing patterns were a little fast and she fidgeted. Kara glanced at the clock. She’d give it another hour before going in. Too much sleep could be as bad as too little sometimes.

 

The door slamming caught Kara’s attention and she sped around to the front of the house to find Alex frantically pacing back and forth on the front porch in mussed clothes trying to call a taxi.

Kara caught her attention by taking the phone from her hands. “Don’t worry about being late to work. I called you in sick.”

“What?”

“I called you in sick. You’re not going to go into work today. And when you do go in tomorrow it’s going to be a 24-hour bug you had and your girlfriend made you stay home and sleep and drink Gatorade and eat chicken noodle soup.”

“Why?”

“Because today you are going to process and recover and I'm going to help you. We don’t have to talk, or do anything at all, but I am here and will support you in your healing. Please, take time to heal.”

Alex frowned. “I process and recover by drinking, sleeping, and then working out.”

“It’s good thing I have a personal gym then, isn’t it?”

Alex looked at Kara, who was smiling kindly, so fully of certainty and goodness and _care_.

Alex huffed out a breath and slumped in resignation, giving Kara a sheepish smile. “Yeah, yeah it is.”

 

-

 

Alex really pushed her body during her workout. She had always worked her hardest after fights with Maggie and this was no exception. She ran for a while, then did a round of the weight machines, glad to see they were reasonably safe to use without a spotter. Then she used the rowing machine. A round of pushups, pullups, and situps later and Alex moved into some of the martial arts forms Kara had been teaching her. She was working through one of the trickier ones when Kryptos interrupted.

“It has been three hours. Further exercise will damage your body more without an increase in strength and stamina. Besides, you’re doing that wrong.”

Alex sighed and glared at the door. Sometimes she wished she could smack Kryptos.

A thought came to her. “Kryptos?”

“Yes, Dr. Alex?”

“You came with them. From Krypton, I mean.”

“You are correct. I was in Kal-El’s escape pod as a Nanny-Bot.”

“Did Kara’s pod have a nanny-bot?”

“No, her pod contained a record keeper. However, it was damaged in the crash and Kara has not yet been able to fix it. She has been very busy with other things and it is not high on the priority list.”

“Huh.” Alex grabbed a towel and wiped some of the sweat off her face. “Where is Kara?”

“She is in the basement and has informed me that you have access there too, whenever you desire.”

“Right. Thanks.”

“It is my duty, Dr. Alex.”

 

After showering and throwing on the clothes Kara had left in the spare room for her, Alex made her way to the basement. She’d seen the stairs leading down, of course. Mistook that door for the pantry door once and nearly killed herself, but had never actually made it to the bottom. It was built in the same style as the rooms under the barn, steel and cement and sharp lines. The tech was more obvious here, and Kryptos required both an eye scan and voice recognition before letting her through.

Kara was bent over a worktable and the distinct smell of soldering was floating through the air, though there didn’t appear to be a soldering iron anywhere in sight. Alex stepped to the side and discovered that something awfully laser-like was shooting from Kara’s eyes and melting together wires on a motherboard.

“That’s new,” Alex said.

Kara finished what she was doing and looked up. Her eyes were still the same bright blue as ever. “Um, right. Never did give you the rundown on my powers.”

Alex shrugged, scanning the room. “Well, that’s a pretty personal thing to be talking about.”

“Speaking of personal . . .” Kara said.

“Your spaceships?” Alex interrupted, pointing at the two silver pods at the far end of the room.

“Yeah.”

Alex spun in a circle taking everything in. “This is . . . really, really, cool.”

Kara smiled bashfully. “I’ll give you the tour later. Right now I think it’s time for lunch. Especially since you haven’t even had breakfast yet.”

On cue, Alex’s stomach grumbled.

 

It took until the (homemade) chicken soup was warmed and biscuits were made and they were actually sitting down at the table eating before Kara spoke up again.

“What happened yesterday?”

Alex winced. “I got drunk?”

Kara gave her the ‘mom’ look. “Yes, you got drunk, but why? From what I could make out, you were talking about your ex, but you weren’t super coherent.”

“Oh.” Alex swallowed her biscuit. “She’s in town.”

“Your ex is in town.” Kara’s tone was one of frank disbelief.

“Yeah. She caught me at the diner. Jess totally snubbed her, though.”

Kara sat back in her chair. “What in Rao’s light is she doing in Kansas?! I thought she was a cop in Midvale!”

“National City, actually, but yeah. She said she works for the FBI now, investigating the extra-normal or extra-terrestrial.”

Alex froze as she realized what she said.

Kara and Alex stared at each other.

“Well, shit.”


	31. The Board Is Set

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’M ALIIIIIIIIIVE!  
> Hey, hi, hello! Sorry for the awful long wait you guys had. My job (while actually quite splendid and full-time and all sorts of adult) takes up a lot more time than I expected. But, never fear, I am carving out time to write! I haven’t written as much as I would like, but I thought you would appreciate a quick update. And it makes me feel good, so win-win. :D  
> To start, I’d like to credit Fifthhollow for the idea of everybody saying “Oh, you’re Maggie, can you get the [] the aliens stole from me?” I’d also like to credit Tots for that piece of dialogue there near the end. She knows what she did.  
> This follows the last chapter directly and we get some more Maggie. Hope you enjoy!

Alex thumped her head on the table. “She would come screw everything up.” She got up and began searching the room. It was a faint hope, she knew, but if Kara had hosted a poker night lately there might be some alcohol left over.

“What are you looking for?” Kara asked.

“A drink.”

Kara lifted her eyebrows. “You know I don’t keep alcohol in the house.”

Alex stared fixedly into a cupboard. “Why is that?”

Kara paused. Was this a good time to press about Alex’s drinking problem? Probably not, what with the stuff with Maggie. She shrugged slightly and answered Alex’s question. “It doesn’t work on me and I’m not a big fan of the taste.”

“You can’t get drunk?”

“No.”

Alex grunted and thumped back down in her seat. “That sucks.” She tapped her fingers on the table. “You don’t even have a leftover beer from game night?”

“Nope.”

Alex stood up. “Where’s my phone? I should go.”

Kara decided that maybe it was time to deal with the drinking problem. She stood up and wrapped her arms around Alex.

“You don’t need a drink,” she said soothingly. “It might feel good now, but it won’t help in the long run.”

“How would you know?” Alex grumbled, squirming out of Kara’s grasp. Had she left her phone on the porch?

Kara sighed. “Just because human alcohol doesn’t work on me doesn’t mean I can’t get addicted to things.”

Alex paused in the doorway. It sounded like she should be paying attention to this, but her brain was all fuzzy and confused and her stomach was roiling just at the thought of Maggie. A quick shot of whiskey would clear both of those right up. And then she could figure out what had Kara sounding sad and punch it in the face. Alex patted her pockets. Maybe she did have her phone and hadn’t realized it.

Kara stepped up behind Alex and wrapped her arms around Alex’s waist, nuzzling into her neck.

“Stay with me?” Kara whispered, letting her lips form the words against Alex’s jaw. “I need your help.”

Alex swiveled in Kara’s arms so she could hold Kara tightly. “I’m not much use.”

“You’re already doing everything I need you to,” Kara replied, running her hands lightly across Alex’s back, trying to hit the pressure points for relaxation. Human acupuncture was surprisingly similar to something her Aunt Astra had taught her. Astra had used it on missions when she was far from Krypton’s comprehensive healing centers.

Alex softened minutely into Kara and Kara sent up a grateful prayer to Rao that she had remembered the technique properly.

“Do you want to talk?” Kara hesitantly asked.

Alex nodded. “Yes. We have to make a game plan. Focus on getting Maggie out of town and convincing the government that there are no aliens here. I won’t have her hurting you too.”

Kara opened her mouth and closed it. She meant talking about Alex’s drinking problem and perhaps touching on the patently false idea Alex had that she was worthless, but this would have to do.

“All right. But we have to show Maggie what she’s missing too. Make her sorry for hurting you.”

\---

Betsy had just hung up the phone with Kara when someone stopped in front of her desk.

“Is Dr. Danvers in?”

Betsy looked up at the woman. Short, curly dark hair, ill-fitting suit, dimples, and a swagger. If the gossip chain could be believed, this was the FBI agent that was Alex’s ex and also searching for aliens.

Betsy gave a fake smile. If this woman thought she could just walk in here and ruin Alex’s and Kara’s life, she had another think coming. “She’s off today, can I take a message?”

The woman leaned up against the desk with a charming smile. “Yeah, let her know Mags dropped by, will you?”

Betsy batted her eyelashes in a brainless idiot sort of way. “Last name?”

“Sawyer.”

“What do you need to discuss with Dr. Danvers?” she asked, making a big show of writing the information down.

Maggie leaned forward a little. “It’s personal.”

“Oh, don’t worry,” Betsy said, giving ‘Mags’ a patronizing smile. “This is all completely confidential of course. Admins are included in doctor-patient confidentiality.”

“I’m not a patient,” Maggie said, straightening up and trying to keep the anger out of her voice.

Betsy immediately stopped writing. “Oh, well, you had better call her personal cell. Or drop by her house. We try to keep things professional around here.”

“Fine. Can you give me her number?”

Betsy gasped. “Her personal cell number? I couldn’t! That would be a total breach of privacy.”

Maggie clenched her jaw and turned around, heading out of the room. As she left, Betsy made sure to start gossiping with  other admins (loud enough so Maggie could hear, of course) about how absolutely wonderful Alex was to work for, and the numerous thank you cards she’d gotten from her patients and how Dr. Griffin had called her “the best researcher I’ve ever read” and you know how Dr. Griffin would know something like that, having been headhunted by Johns Hopkins.

-

“Are you done chasing that girl, yet?” Derek grunted exasperatedly, as Maggie stormed out of the hospital.

Maggie glanced over at her partner. “I don’t chase girls, old man, I make them chase me.”

Derek grunted again, this time with a tone of disbelief. He had very expressive grunts.

“What have we got so far?” Maggie asked.

“Well, everybody seems to know that we’re looking for extra-normal or extra-terrestrial stuff . . .” he trailed off as a scrawny man scurried up to them and fixed his eyes on Maggie.

“You’re here about the aliens, right?”

“Uh . . .” Maggie swung her jacket open instinctively, reaching for her identification.

The man continued before she could say anything. “Do you think you’ll find my cat?”

“Your cat.”

“Yeah, he got abducted by aliens. I saw the lights and everything!”

Maggie blinked. “We don’t discuss ongoing investigations.”

The man clasped his hands together as if he were praying. “Find my cat, please!”

“We’ll keep our eyes open, sir.” Maggie finally conceded.

He beamed gratefully and scuttled off.

Derek snorted. “Lots of folks like that. They’re either asking us to find an animal, tractor, or unmentionables, or telling us we should talk to Winn and Raven, but not Kara.”

Maggie grinned. “So, clearly, we’re going to talk to Kara.”

Derek grunted. This one was in the tone of “slightly approving but you could do better.”

“Do we have an address?”

Derek jerked his head towards the post office. “Not even a last name, but in small towns, the post office knows everybody.”

They entered the small building, immediately catching the attention of the postal worker at the desk and his companion, a man with a straw hat and a matching straw between his teeth. The two men glanced at each other, nodded in solidarity, and stared at the intruders.

Derek flashed his credentials and Maggie quickly followed. “Agent Jones and Agent Sawyer, FBI. Do either of you know a Kara?”

Mr. Straw Hat flicked the straw in his mouth around thoughtfully. "Kara? That the old broad who works down at the corner store?"

The postal worker shook his head. "Nah, that's Karen you're thinking of. Kara's the lawyer down on Fifth."

“No, that’s Carin. I remember because she used to be Karen when she was in pigtails, but then went to law school, got all pretentious and changed her name.”

“Ohhh, yeah. Good lawyer though.”

“Yeah, yeah, she is.”

The two men turned back to look at the FBI agents. “Are you sure it was a Kara you’re looking for?”

“Yes. K-A-R-A. I had them spell it.”

“Ohhh, you mean Kaaara!” the farmer lengthened the ‘a’ dramatically. “Sure, I know her. She’s got the place three down from me. Nice little piece of land. Good fields, pond that doesn’t go dry, a few head of cattle. Best lot on the road, the way she’s fixed it up.”

“So, she’s a farmer?” Derek asked as Maggie scribbled notes.

“Yeah, yeah.”

“Do you have a last name for her?”

“Stone,” the postal worker spoke up. “Kara Stone. What do you want with her?”

“We’re here investigating evidence of extra-normal activity and a source recommended we speak with her,” Derek answered smoothly.

Both men chuckled. The farmer tsked through his straw. “Your source is batty. Kara is as normal as they come.”

“It’s possible she saw something,” Derek said neutrally.

“The only thing she sees is that beau of hers, amirite, Joe?” The farmer nudged the postal worked and chuckled.

Joe shuffled a few packages behind the counter and hummed noncommittally. “They do spend a lot of time together.”

Derek broke in. “If not Ms. Stone, who should we talk to?”

The two men exchanged another look.

Joe spoke up. “Winn Schott and Raven Reyes. Now, if you’ll excuse us, agents, we have work to do.” The postal worked disappeared into the back while the farmed tipped his hat at the two of them and strolled out the front.

Faced with an empty post office, Derek frowned. He hurried out the front door and began speed walking towards their hotel. Maggie had to really hustle to catch up, cursing his long legs under her breath. When they reach the relative privacy of their hotel room, Derek waved at the computer before digging through his suitcase.

“Do extensive background checks on all three of those people, and set up a trace on that computer. I’m going to be out for a few hours and I want it done before I get back.”

Maggie nodded. “I’ll get right on that. What are you going to do?”

Derek glowered. “Nothing you need to know about yet.”


	32. Closing Ranks

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this has taken forever. Sorry. But, it’s a bit longer to make up for it?

Winn bustled into the basement room, quickly plugging his computer into a projector. Within moments, the wall lit up with a large (and detailed) document titled “Operation Shut These Jerks DOWN” and in much smaller letters below, “#ProtectKalexSquad”. Alex snorted at the first and quirked her head at the second. That would be something she could tease Winn about later.

Kara walked over to the stairs and yelled up them. <<Kal! We’re nearly ready! Get off the phone and come down!>>

Kal thumped down the stairs and flopped into a chair at the end of the table, his phone still in his hand.

“Who else is coming?” Winn asked.

“Just us,” Kara replied. “I’ll conference J’onn in, too. Lucy is at work but wants us to email her the plan so she can, and I quote, ‘go over it and get rid of all your unrealistic-over-the-top-Scooby-Doo shenanigans and give you something that might actually work against the US government.’”

Winn discreetly deleted a couple paragraphs on his document.

“Who all knows?” Alex spoke up. “About you not being human, I mean. I know, Winn knows, Lucy knows, and I’m guessing the John that you will be conferencing in does too. Anyone else?”

“I’ve only told you four,” Kara said. “But I told Lucy she could tell Vasquez if she wanted. And Kal’s told some people.”

Clark looked up from his phone. “Lois and Jimmy know,” he said, before going back to whatever he was doing.

“Oh, and M’gann! I think J’onn told M’gann. I told him he could.”

Alex scribbled the names on her notepad.

Winn made an aborted movement towards his (according to the label)  Bag of Holding. “Do you want a computer to take notes on? I have a spare tablet or two in my bag . . .”

“Nah, I think better when I’ve got a pencil in my hand, you know? And electronic lists aren’t as flexible for doodles and diagrams.”

“Challenge accepted,” Winn muttered.

“So, that’s ten people on our side, counting Kara and Clark,” Alex stated. “Lucy and Vasquez can provide support and advice from a distance. Who’s John? What kind of help can he provide.”

“J’onn’s a really good friend,” Kara explained. “I don’t know where he is right now, he’s been traveling the world, but he’ll have good advice. He understands people.”

Alex added a few doodles and descriptors to her list of names to help her remember who and what everyone was and could do.

Winn leaned over conspiratorially while Kara fussed with getting the secure call set up. “J’onn is basically Kara’s dad. He helped out a lot when we were teenagers. He loves her like she's his own, even though he can’t be around all the time.”

Alex gulped. She really didn’t think she’d have to meet the parents so soon.

“Ha!” Kara whacked a computer and it started up with a whirring noise.

<<Connecting.>> Kryptos intoned.

There was a series of noises, much like a computer attempting to dial up the internet, and then it quieted into a barely audible hum.

A deep voice emanated from the speakers. “Hello, Kara.”

“J’onn!” Kara cried, happily. “Are you safe?”

“Yes, and should be good here for a few more days, if you need to call again.”

Kara relaxed a little. “Oh, good. Well, we’ve got a bit of a problem.”

“What’s wrong?” The voice was suddenly firm and intense. It reminded Alex of her great-uncle. The one who had taught her to shoot. He was ex-army and getting on in years, but could still get a roomful of teenagers to shut up with two well-placed words. “Do I need to come home?”

“No!” Kara exclaimed. “It’s nothing. Well, not nothing, but you don’t need to fly home. There’s this thing with evil Maggie and the government . . .” Kara scrunched her face. “Maybe I should have Alex explain.”

“Alex?”

Alex straightened in her chair and fought the urge to put her hands behind her back in parade rest. “Hello, sir. It’s nice to meet you.”

“Suck-up.” Winn coughed.

“Winn’s here, too,” Kara added, unnecessarily. “And Kal.”

Clark mumbled a greeting.

“It is good to meet you, too, Dr. Danvers,” John said. “And nice to hear from you, Winn, Kal. Now, what is this nothing problem Kara is having trouble explaining?”

Alex gave a short summary of her encounter with Maggie the day before and explained how worried she was that Maggie would find Kara and Clark out and hurt them.

Kara protested that she was more worried Maggie would hurt Alex, and Winn rolled his eyes and muttered something about getting a cavity.

John gave a thoughtful hum. “I’ve heard rumors. Aliens, enhanced humans, mutant animals. All disappeared. Killed by fanatics some say. Others say they were kidnapped by a private army to fight or taken by a mad scientist for experiments. I don’t think the FBI would do such a thing, not with their oversight committees, but it certainly something that you could investigate. Carefully. What else do we know about them?”

“They’re not FBI.” Alex and Winn said in tandem.

There was a heavy pause.

Winn peered at Alex suspiciously. “How do you know that?”

Alex shrugged, trying to keep her expression neutral. “We dated a long time. I know her tells. She was lying when she said she was FBI. How do you know they’re not FBI?”

“I talked to some of my contacts and poked around a bit. They’re government, but not FBI. Some classified department. I’m still digging.”

Kara wrinkled her nose. “What sort of contacts? Are they trustworthy?”

Winn coughed nervously. “Computer contacts. They’re mostly trustworthy? Not really the sort of people you would give personal information too, but they won’t think it’s weird that I’m digging into a government agency that randomly showed up in my town. More than happy to help, actually. We’re, they’re, very, uh, anti-establishment.”

Kara still had a confused look on her face but Alex grinned knowingly. “Hacker friends?”

Winn drew himself up. “We’re security consultants, thank you very much.”

“Is that how you manage to keep your store running?” Kara asked. “With illegal hacking funds?”

“It’s not illegal!” Winn protested. “Well, mostly not illegal. Companies pay me to hack into their computer systems and show them how to improve security.”

“And he does a very good job of it.” J’onn cut in.

“You knew?!” Kara sputtered.

“I know everything.”

Alex wasn’t sure if J’onn was kidding or not.

Clark looked up from his phone. “As fascinating as this all is, can I leave now?”

“This is important, Kal,” Kara said seriously. “It concerns you as much as it concerns any of us.”

“Look, I’ll keep my head down, not do anything alien, and try to avoid them. Does that work?”

Kara sighed. “Yes. Don’t do anything to make yourself noticeable. Stay safe.”

As Clark left, Bothgar trotted through the opened door and happily lay down on top of Alex’s feet. Alex gave him a quick rub and a smile before focusing back on the group.

They got down to serious business shortly after, but it was rather unproductive. They didn’t know much about what organization Maggie and her partner belonged to, what they wanted, or why they had come to Neodesha, so the squad couldn’t make a solid plan. After talking in circles for an hour (Alex was very glad she had Bothgar to pet) they decided to just keep doing what they had been. Winn would keep digging, Kara and Clark would pretend to be as human as possible, and they would all keep their ears to the gossip chain. J’onn said he would talk to a few of his contacts and see if he could get more information on other government run-ins with aliens and extranormals. Alex had been given no particular assignment, but she resigned herself to talking with Maggie again to find out what she could.

Kara frowned, thumping her head into her hands in exasperation. “This isn’t enough!”

J’onn’s voice rumbled soothingly through the speakers. “It is all we can do right now. It is enough.”

Kara glared. “Why do people have to be mean? It’s not nice.”

No one answered her, but Alex was pretty sure it was a rhetorical question anyway.

That sat in a frustrated silence for a while. Eventually, Kara sighed. “Say hi to M’gann for me. And stay safe.”

“Always.” J’onn replied. “Take care of yourself.”

Kara turned off the computer/phone and the background humming stopped, leaving the basement dead quiet.

Winn stood up and began packing away his stuff. “Okay, well, I have some dark internet to trawl, so I will talk to you all later.” He bustled out of the basement.

Alex bent down and began rubbing Bothgar’s ears.

“What now?” Kara asked.

“Take me home?” Alex said. “I have a few things I need to do, and work tomorrow.”

“Sure.”

The drive was quiet. Neither Kara nor Alex spoke, both lost in their thoughts and worries about what might happen, imaginations spiraling wildly to the worst case scenarios.

Once inside her apartment, Alex went straight for the bottle of whiskey she had tucked away. Kara, who had been standing in the doorway, sped forward and pulled it out of Alex’s hands.

Alex glared and reached for it again. “Kara!”

“Nope. No alcohol for you.”

“Why not?”

“Because it’s unhealthy.”

“It’s one drink. It’s not going to kill me.”

“It might! You’re not taking care of yourself!”

“I’m fine!”

“You’re an alcoholic, Alex!”

Alex scoffed, digging through her fridge for a beer. “Don’t be ridiculous.”

Kara took that one away too. “I can smell the alcohol on you. You drink. Every day. A beer or two with your lunch. Some wine with dinner. A shot of scotch as dessert. A glass of whiskey as a night cap. I’ve seen you get blackout drunk twice!”

“You’re exaggerating,” Alex said, reaching again for one of the bottles Kara was holding.

Kara held them up out of Alex’s reach. “I’m not going to let you keep hurting yourself like this!” Kara spoke louder, trying to get her point across.”

“Oh, really?” Alex asked, scathingly. “You’re going to police my every move?”

“I’m just trying to do what’s best for you!” Kara yelled, stepping forward aggressively.

Alex flinched violently.

Kara froze.

“Leave.”

“Alex, look, I’m sorry.”

“Get out of my house.”

“I didn’t mean . . .”

“Get out. I won’t go through this again.”

Kara left.

\---

For the next two days, Alex was drunk and miserable. She went to work and seemed fine on the outside (after all, this was hardly the first time she faked it through a bender), but her stomach was full of knots about the fight. She went straight from work to home and back again. She picked up her phone to call Kara at least a dozen times, but could never muster the courage.

Finally, she broke down and called someone else.

Abby picked up the phone with a cheerful “Alex, how are you?”

“Tell me Kara isn’t abusive. Tell me she really just worries and she isn’t controlling or demanding or going to hurt me if I’m not what she wants.”

There was a heavy pause. A few noises filtered through the phone as Abby took herself off to somewhere private.

When she eventually spoke, it was slowly. “Kara. Kara is very . . . strong. Smart. If she wanted, she could be the most powerful person in the town. State. Country, easily. The world, even, if she played her cards right.”

“Okay?” Alex was confused.

Abby tried to send a hug through the phone with just her voice. “Kara chooses to stay here. Chooses to help. To be the one willing to feed you in exchange for some work on the farm. Or the one that goes to the library and does story time. Or the one that volunteers at schools and hospitals and shelters and non-profits and always has a listening ear.”

Alex scrunched her face. “She’s not trying to control me? She’s just trying to help?”

Abby’s voice grew fierce. “She is nothing like your ex.”

“What do you know about Maggie?”

“Please,” Abby scoffed. “Like Raven didn’t run a full background check on her the minute she stepped into town.”

“Right.”

There was another pause. Abby spoke up again, gentler. “Talk to Kara. Explain. She’ll listen.”

“Okay. Okay, I can do that. Thank you.”

“Anytime, Alex, I mean that.”

Alex hung up the phone with Abby and dialed Kara before she could lose her nerve.

“Hello?” Kara’s voice was hesitant.

“Kara, hi.” Alex paused. “Can we talk? Um, face to face?”

“Yes. Please.”

“Great.” Alex paused again, tugging on her shirt sleeves. She should probably be sober for this. “Uh, does tomorrow evening work? I could come to you or you could come here or we could meet somewhere neutral . . .”

“I’ll come over about 7.”

“Okay. See you then.”

\---

Kara knocked softly on the door at exactly seven o’clock. Alex opened it and waved her in. There was no hug or kiss in greeting. Kara made sure to stay respectfully away from Alex, making no motion towards her and keeping her voice low as she said hello.

Alex stood up straight and went right into what she had to say.

“I apologize for yelling at you and throwing you out of the house. I reacted harshly when you meant no offense and that hurt you and I am very sorry I did. I’d like to make it up to you, if you’ll let me. I promise I’ll do my best to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

Kara relaxed a little. “I’m sorry I tried to control you.”

Alex shook her head. “You weren’t. You were just trying to help.”

“Yes, but it’s not my job to control what you drink. I can make suggestions and give advice as a concerned friend, but I shouldn’t force the issue.”

“. . . friend?”

Kara bit her lip. “I wasn’t sure if that was a break-up or not.”

Alex wrapped her arms around herself. “I would like to still be your girlfriend. If that’s something you still want.”

Kara stepped forward and pulled Alex into a hug. “Yes. Absolutely.”

“I’m glad.”

Kara guided them to the couch, lay down, and pulled Alex on top of her. “Do you want to talk more about it?”

Alex sighed as she snuggled down, resting her head on Kara’s shoulder. “Not really, but I need to explain myself.”

“Okay.” Kara rubbed Alex’s back soothingly.

Alex took a deep breath and started. “That was the first time you had been angry in front of me, and it felt like you were angry at me, even though I don't think you were.”

Kara hummed thoughtfully. “No, I wasn't angry at you, but I did unfairly take it out on you. I think it was the first time you saw me angry.”

“Maggie used to get angry a lot.”

Kara winced.

Alex groaned. “I don’t, I don’t want to compare you to her. It’s not fair to you.”

“You were together a long time.” Kara offered. “It’s habitual.”

“But I’m not with her now! I’m with you! And I don’t want to be with her. I want to be with you! I like you! You’re important to me!”

Alex popped her head up and stared at Kara earnestly, trying to convey how much she wanted to be the right person for Kara.

“I like you too,” Kara said, gently kissing Alex.

Alex sighed. “I don’t think I’ve really dealt with the breakup.”

Kara tensed a little. “What do you mean?”

“Oh, I’m over her. I don’t like her at all anymore. She was mean.” That last was said almost petulantly.

“Okay.” Kara relaxed, but she was still confused.

“I still have issues from it,” Alex explained. “But I don’t want you to change how you act around me because of them. And I don’t really know all of the issues either.”

Kara gave a soft exclamation. “And Maggie got mad a lot!”

“Especially when I wasn’t behaving like she thought I should.”

Kara held on a little tighter. “I am so sorry. So, so, sorry.”

Alex shrugged as best she could while still wrapped around Kara. "You didn't know."

"I'm going to, you know," Kara stated firmly. "I'm going to learn all about you. Find out what you love and hate and what makes you laugh or cry. Meet all the people important to you, hear all your stories."

"That might take a while."

"I hope it does."

They were silent for a few moments before Alex spoke up again. "You can ask, if you want. About Maggie. Or my other exes. Or whatever."

Kara, after glancing at Alex's face to see that Alex meant it, asked, “How’d you meet her?”

“At a club." Alex huffed a little in remembrance before continuing. "I was there to dance, she was there with some co-workers. She ran into me on the dance floor with the handful of drinks she was taking back to her group. Apologized profusely, helped me clean up in the bathroom, came home with me that night. I thought it would be a one night stand, but then I ran into her again, at a different club. We went to her place that time. When we ran into each other the third time at a third club I asked her if she was stalking me. She said she wasn’t but I should give her my number. Something about coincidence and fate and making it easier on the universe.”

“Smooth.”

Alex quirked the corner of her mouth. “She could be very charming when she wanted to be.”

“You like to dance?”

“I loved to dance. I’d take at least one dance class a semester while in college. Kept me sane when I couldn’t get to the beach to surf.”

"Mmm." Kara idly traced her hand along Alex's spine. "Would you mind terribly if I stayed the night? I've missed you."

Alex stretched her head and laid a soft, lingering, kiss on Kara's cheek. "I would love for you to stay the night."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Many thanks to the usual suspects in helping my brainstorm and write and push through this chapter. Many many thanks to S for the hashtag. It made me laugh and I just had to put it in. :D All of you readers’ comments really make my day.


	33. The Game is Afoot

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gosh, has it really been a month? I'm really sorry. Uh, this chapter is mostly dialogue, but we'll keep back to more action-y stuff in the next one.

The next morning on her way to work, Alex couldn’t stop smiling. Everything seemed brighter, now that she wasn’t fighting with Kara. She was giddy with the knowledge that Kara knew her and liked her anyway and accepted all her problems and idiosyncrasies. Waking up curled around her girlfriend didn’t hurt either. And the good morning kisses and gentle touches while they got ready were just the whipped cream on top.

Checking her phone when she got to her office, she found a sweet text from Kara (have a good day! heart emoji, kiss emoji) and a text from Raven.

Raven ‘The King’ Reyes:  _ send your evil ex my way, i have things to troll her with _

Alex chuckled.  _ Do your trolls explode? _

Raven ‘The King’ Reyes:  _. . . _

Raven ‘The King’ Reyes:  _ don’t tempt me _

Raven ‘The King’ Reyes:  _ i have plans upon plans _

_ Have you talked to Winn? _

Raven ‘The King’ Reyes:  _ we have a few conspiracies, yes. most of the town is in on this, you know. _

_ Really? _

Raven ‘The King’ Reyes:  _ absolutely!!!!!! _

Raven ‘The King’ Reyes:  _ ugh, I have to go, Clarke is getting into the Nutella, but come over for dinner again sometime. we can talk strategy _

_ Sure. Talk to you later. _

 

Work went much more smoothly (not being drunk helped a lot) and she was still bouncing a little on her feet when she headed out for her lunch break. She texted Kara as soon as she got out of the office.

_ Want to meet for lunch? _

My Beautiful Girlfriend:  _ Yes! *heart emoji* *kiss emoji* *hug emoji* _

_ The diner? _

My Beautiful Girlfriend:  _ I’ll be there in twenty. *kiss emoji* *heart emoji* *kiss emoji* _

 

Alex had made it two steps into the diner when she heard Maggie call out.

“Alex! Join us for lunch!”

She paused, glancing at Maggie and her companion. Though spending time with Maggie did not sound enjoyable at all, it would be a good opportunity to dig for info.

“Well, I’m meeting my girlfriend . . .” Alex said, feigning reluctance.

As Alex expected, Maggie’s expression hardened ever so slightly. “She can join us too, right, Derek?”

The other “FBI” agent grunted.

Maggie gave a tense grin. “See, she can totally join us. I’d love to meet her.”

“Yeah, okay. I’ll just text her.” Alex pulled out her phone and quickly typed up a message to Kara.

_ Fanangled lunch with Maggie and her partner. A useful opportunity to learn more about why they’re here, I think. _

My Beautiful Girlfriend:  _ Great! Shall we show her what she's missing? Really rub it in Maggie’s face? _

_ Sure. _

My Beautiful Girlfriend: * _ devil emoji* *heart emoji* See you in ten! Operation Stalk the Ex is a go! _

Alex chuckled quietly, before looking back up at the other two. “She’s, uh, very excited to meet you.”

Maggie blinked before turning to her partner. “Oh, Derek, this is my ex-girlfriend. Alex, this is Agent Derek Jones, my partner.”

Alex smiled politely and stretched out her hand. “Dr. Alex Danvers. I hope your assignment is going well.”

Derek grunted noncommittally and added a perfunctory “nice to meet you.”

There was a poignant pause while they all carefully examined each other.

Maggie broke the stand-off. “So, how’d you meet your new girlfriend?”

Alex didn’t even have to fake laughing at the memory. It’d been long enough she no longer got embarrassed. “My car broke down on my way to my first day of work and she rescued me. Gave me a ride, got my car to a shop to get it fixed . . . even fed me dinner.”

“Sounds too good to be true.”

Alex shook her head, “She is absolutely amazing. The best person I’ve ever met. Of course, people here are generally much nicer than people back in National City.”

“You like it here then?”

Alex let out all the giddiness she had been holding inside all day. “Love it! Best decision I ever made.”

Maggie squinted her eyes and opened her mouth when the server interrupted, sidling up to fill Alex’s coffee cup and asking, “Doc Alex, what can I get you today?”

Alex turned to Jess, winking when the others couldn’t see her. “Uh, just my regular. Oh, and Kara’s regular. She should be here soon.”

Neither Alex nor Kara had regular orders at the diner. Kara because she ate everything and Alex because she felt she should try all the items on the menu before picking a favorite.

“Uh huh.” Jess scribbled on the pad, catching on quickly. “That’s a grilled cheese extra ham no sauce with a caesar salad for you, and for Kara a bacon burger, a tuna sandwich, two large mozzarella sticks, a large fries, a chicken caesar, a side of chili, and a side of ribs.”

“Yeah.” Alex tapped the table. “Add a few milkshakes and the daily pie to that, will you?”

“Sure thing. Strawberry, chocolate, and vanilla? Pie today is rhubarb.”

“Sounds delicious.”

“You know it, sugar. I’ll just put that on your tab. It’ll be a few minutes.” Jess stepped back towards the kitchen, pausing to refill another customer’s coffee and drop off a few napkins.

Alex turned back towards Maggie and raised her eyebrows innocently at Maggie’s confused look.

“I didn’t know they had tabs here,” Maggie said.

Alex shrugged. She was as surprised by that as she was, though she did a better job hiding it. “They don’t. At least not for most people. If the owner likes someone, though, they can open up a tab.”

Maggie started to reply but was interrupted once again, this time by Kara deftly pushing Maggie (and her chair and bag) out of the way and slipping her own seat in beside Alex.

“Hello,” Kara said, nodding at the two “FBI” agents before giving Alex a quick peck on the lips in greeting. As she settled fully into her chair, Alex pulled Kara back and gave her a more thorough kiss.

“Hi,” Alex whispered.

Kara grinned goofily. “Hey.”

There was a short pause as they gazed into each other's’ eyes.

Kara shook herself slightly and sat up, resting her hand on Alex’s knee. “Sorry I’m late.”

“Oh, it’s fine,” Alex said. “We were just catching up. I ordered for you, by the way.”

“Thanks!”

Kara turned to Maggie and held out her hand. “Kara Stone.”

Alex noticed Derek perk up at the name.

“Maggie Sawyer.”

Maggie winced as Kara’s grip got just a little too tight. Like, bone-grinding, bruise-inducing, alien-implying tight.

“It’s so nice to meet you,” Kara said, with a sickly sweet smile on her face. “I’ve heard all about you.”

Alex took a sip of her coffee to hide her smile. Kara could power play with the best of them.

Kara turned to Derek, who introduced himself with a short grunt and a handshake.

Maggie leaned back in her chair, crossed her arms, and tried to look casual. “So you’re the rebound?”

Kara shook her head slowly while Alex snorted. “No, the rebound was Jody.”

“Who?”

“You know, the girl at my gym? The one that taught Krav Maga? We hooked up for a couple weeks before I came out here.”

“Right.” Maggie nodded, forcing another smile on her face. “You did love that gym.”

Alex took another sip of her coffee, making a mental bet how many different interrogation techniques Maggie would try during the lunch.

Jess and another server came around with all the plates, heaped high with food. It took four trays to carry it all. Jess winked at Kara and Alex behind Maggie’s and Derek’s back, mouthing something Alex didn’t quite catch.

Kara looked at the dishes and beamed. “Alex.” 

“What?”

Kara leaned in for a kiss. “A whole pie? And milkshakes too? You’re the bestest person ever.”

Once all the food was squeezed onto the table, and they’d taken their first few bites, Derek started up the conversation again, eyeing Kara carefully. “You must be the one everyone tells me not to talk to.”

Kara looked up with a perfectly baffled expression on her face. “People are telling you not to talk to me? Why do you want to talk to me?”

Derek grunted. This one had a flavor of “wouldn’t you like to know” in it.

Maggie continued. “We’re talking to anybody really, just gathering information at this stage.”

“Most people recommend we talk to Winslow Schott Junior.” Derek threw out, gauging their responses carefully.

Kara rolled her eyes while Alex laughed. “Oh yeah, Winn. He’s a pretty big alien buff. Like, kind of obsessed, you know?”

“So you think we should talk to him.”

Kara nodded. “If you’re looking for unusual stuff in town, he’d know about it. He keeps close tabs on that sort of thing. And hears all the gossip.”

Maggie looked at Alex. “You agree? This Schott guy is the one to talk to?”

Alex hummed thoughtfully. “Sure, he would be a good person to talk to, but I, personally, would talk to Raven Reyes first.”

“Raven Reyes?”

“Yeah, she’s just as into aliens as Winn is, but much more scientific about it. More credible.” Alex chuckled. “I mean, as credible as you can get with aliens. Honestly, Winn thinks we’re having a conversation with aliens through crop circles. Raven though, she works with NASA and has ridiculous access to information about far-space travel and communication and a bunch of other stuff.”  _ and is just chomping at the bit to do something to you _ Alex mentally added.

Kara nudged Alex. “If Winn ever hears you recommended Raven over him, you’ll be in for it.”

Alex gave Kara a look. “I can take Winn, thank you very much.”

“And what is your opinion on aliens?” Derek asked Kara.

Kara snorted. “Ridiculous. Even if, and that’s a big if that I don’t believe for a second, there were aliens, why would they come here?”

Derek grunted. “And you, Alex?”

“Oh, there’s probably life on other planets, the universe is big enough. But I don’t think any are here.”

She resisted the urge to look at Kara, who was chowing down her food at slightly-faster-than-human speed.

Derek and Maggie exchanged a look.

“I think that’s enough talk about work,” Maggie stated. “What do you do for a living, Kara?”

“Oh, I’ve got a farm. Nothing big, but it keeps me busy and will pay for Clark to go to college if he wants.”

“And you plan on doing that the rest of your life?” Maggie’s condescending tone had Alex clenching her fist beneath the table. Kara reached over and gently opened Alex’s fist, twining their fingers together before responding. “Sure. People need to eat, don’t they?”

Maggie hummed, not contradicting Kara, but obviously not believing this was a worthy use of her time.

They chatted about inconsequential things for the rest of the meal, (five minutes on the weather alone!) with no more success at learning about the FBI’s plans. Kara talked up Alex every chance she got and Alex tried to do the same with Kara. After all, Kara was getting the short end of the stick in their relationship, so she deserved to be showered with compliments. She hoped they sounded sincere enough to convince Maggie because she meant every word.

They were still politely talking when Alex's alarm beeped to remind her to head back to work. She said goodbye briefly to Maggie and Derek and then kissed Kara. It started out reasonably chaste, but then she got distracted with the lips and the tongue and the hands and just everything that was Kara.

“Call me tonight?” Kara whispered against her lips when they parted.

“Of course.”

One more peck and Alex was darting out the door and across the street and praying to whoever was listening that Kara didn’t do something to out herself while she was gone.


	34. Moves and Countermoves

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *peeks sheepishly through the doorway* Hi guys. Um, long time no see? *throws chapter on the table and hastily runs away*

The next few days were tense. The ‘FBI’ kept to themselves when they weren’t taking reports of strange happenings. Winn responded to each of their queries about what he’d found with a “nothing yet” and even the gossip chain was running low on material.

Alex and Kara were curled up in front of the fireplace one evening when Winn burst through the front door, gesticulating urgently.

Kara, Alex, and Bothgar all looked up with identical confused expressions. “What’s going on?” Kara asked.

Winn mimed zipping his lips and went through a ridiculous charade that had both of them completely baffled. Eventually, he just rolled his eyes and waved for them to follow him. He led them through the hallway, into the kitchen, and down the steps to the basement, Kara and Alex (and Bothgar) following curiously.

Once they all made it through the security, Winn typed something into the control panel on the wall and Kryptos announced “Jamming initiated.”

Winn made grabby hands. “Phones, now.”

Kara obligingly handed her over, and Alex, after a considering moment, did the same.

“Are you going to explain?” Alex asked.

“Right! Yes. Uh, we have a problem. The quote-FBI-unquote are tapping your phones.”

“What? Why?” Kara looked highly offended.

Winn shrugged. “I dunno. Maybe _someone_ did _something_ suspicious.” Winn gave Kara look. “Or maybe they’re just tapping people for general information gathering. Or maybe Alex’s ex is super jealous and inappropriately using government resources. Whatever the reason is, it’s bad.”

Alex frowned. “Who all is being tapped?”

Winn straightened up from the pieces of phone now scattered across the table. “Raven and I got tapped first, which is fine because we’re prepared for this. You don’t become an alien enthusiast without being sort of paranoid. You and Kara were next. Then Clark, Abby, Betsy, Jess, James Herriot, and Cynthia, and possibly some more. We’re still searching. Basically, they're tapping anyone you two might be close with or anyone who is a big part of the gossip chain.”

Kara nodded slowly. “And you’re fixing our phones so they can’t tap us anymore.”

“Not quite. I’m going to make it so they can’t access the microphones or any of the data.”

“You can’t you block them all together?” Alex furrowed her brow.

“If I do that, they’ll figure it was intentional. We can’t let them know we know.”

“Right.” Alex glanced at Kara, who was looking a little overwhelmed. She shifted her chair a little closer and placed her hand on Kara’s leg comfortingly. “Do you know how long they’ve been monitoring our phones?”

“A few days, maybe a week.”

Alex hastily thought back to all of her phone calls and texts and conversations. There was some stuff that could be circumstantially incriminating, but nothing definite.

“Kara,” Winn said, “could you solder here, here, and here?”

Kara stepped forward and again beams of light burst from her eyes and the faint scent of melted metal drifted through the air.

“Thanks.” Winn snapped the cases back on and passed their phones back. “The agents shouldn’t be able to access the phones directly now, but they can still access anything that passes through cell towers. So keep your conversations clean. Or, you know, send dirty pics to make evil-ex mad. Up to you.”

Kara lightly smacked Winn. “Not funny.”

“We can either laugh about it or cry about it, right?”

They both stared at him, unimpressed.

“Okay, I guess you guys are the crying sort.” Winn nodded at Alex, patted Bothgar on the head, and laid a comforting hand on Kara’s shoulder. “We’ll figure it out, all right? I’m going to do some more digging and come up with some more badass plans. We got this.”

“Thanks, Winn.”

“Anytime.”

He left with one more smile that was supposed to be comforting but was really more of a grimace.

 

They sat in silence for a few moments, considering the situation, before Alex refocused on her girlfriend. Kara’s forehead was wrinkled and she was nervously chewing on her bottom lip. Alex wanted to wrap her up in a hug and then go shoot Maggie so Kara would stop worrying. Unfortunately, shooting a federal agent would probably cause more problems than it would solve, so she didn’t.

Instead, Alex ventured a distraction. “Uh, you said you would show me all your powers?”

Kara looked up and gave Alex a weird look. “I guess? If you want?”

“You absolutely don’t have to show me if you’re at all uncomfortable!” Alex hastened to say. This was backfiring spectacularly. “Whatever you want to share is enough. I’ll never press, I promise.”

“I just don’t want you to freak out,” Kara mumbled. “I’m kind of powerful.”

Alex opened her mouth. She didn’t think she would be scared or freaked out or any of that (except maybe geeking out a little too much), but knew Kara would brush off any reassurances, so she went for teasing. “I already know you’re hella ripped and can shoot lasers from your eyes. Are you saying you can top that?”

Kara laughed and leaned over with a glint in her eye. “Oh, I can totally top that.”

“Oh?” Alex waved a hand. “Go ahead. Impress me.”

Kara started by standing up and casually lifting the large and very solid table with one hand. “To start, I’m stronger, faster, and have more stamina than anyone else on this planet.” She tossed the table up idly, then set it back down again, flexing as she did so.

Alex’s mouth went dry.

“I have a really large lung capacity. I can hold my breath for at least three hours. Haven’t met my limit yet, honestly.”

Alex swallowed.

Kara sauntered back towards Alex. She bent at the waist, placing her hands on Alex's shoulders. “I’m invulnerable to everything from this planet. You can’t cut me, break me, or bruise me. My senses are extraordinary. I can hear your heartbeat from miles away. I can see galaxies with my naked eyes.”

Alex darted her tongue out to wet her lips, trying not to stare down Kara’s shirt.

Kara sidled into Alex’s lap. “I can freeze you with a breath or burn you with a look. I can literally look right through you. But to top it all, I can fly among the stars. There is nothing in this world that can hold me down.”

Alex wrapped her arms around Kara and leaned forward, kissing Kara desperately.

After several long minutes, Alex pulled back breathlessly. “Not freaked out. Most definitely not freaked out. Totally the opposite of that. You are so amazing.”

Kara shifted until she was straddling Alex, tilted her head down, and gave Alex and deep, slow, and thorough kiss. “Rao, I l-like you.”

"Mmmm," Alex moaned into the kiss, tugging at Kara's shirt and untucking it from her pants.

Emboldened by Alex's obvious interest, Kara slipped her hand down Alex's arm and underneath Alex's shirt, scratching lightly at Alex's abs.

A harsh ring startled both of them into pausing. The loud noise came again and they turned to see Alex's phone vibrating on the table. Alex fumbled for it, trying to look at the name while still nibbling on Kara’s neck. Kara groaned and grabbed the phone from Alex’s hand, tossing it back onto the table.

“Ignore it.”

“It could be work.”

“You’re off tonight.”

“At least let me answer it.”

“Nuh uh,” Kara mumbled into Alex’s mouth. “Less talking, more kissing.”

Alex didn’t seem convinced, still a bit tense.

Kara pouted, teasingly. “Should I be offended you’re more interested in your phone than making out with me?”

Alex slumped back in the chair and ran her hands down her face. “Sorry. Of course you’re more important than the phone call. It won’t happen again.”

Kara chuckled a little. “That’s a bit unrealistic, isn’t it? Never answering your phone while you’re with me? We spend enough time together.”

Alex frowned and looked away, shrugging slightly. “I don’t want you to think you’re unimportant.”

Kara gently turned Alex’s face back towards her, dropping a small peck on Alex’s lips. “Aren’t we a pair, huh? I’m worried I'm too different, you’re worried I don’t know how much you care . . . and this whole Maggie Alien-Hunter thing is adding a lot of stress.”

Alex nodded. “Especially after our fight.”

“I’m really glad you called me.” Kara ran her hands lightly across Alex’s back and kissed her cheek.

Alex tucked her face into Kara’s neck. “Mmhm. Me too.”

“We’ll deal with this together, okay?” Kara said, stroking Alex’s head. “We’re stronger together.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: All I know about wire taps comes from like five minutes on Wikipedia. I didn't really want to search any more deeply than that.


	35. Stronger Together

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh man, has it really been two months? I'm so sorry. I am writing more now, though, so the next chapters should come faster! I've settled into my job, and bought a car (cut an hour off my commute, yay!), so fingers crossed! Hope you enjoy.

Alex jiggled her leg as she sat on the couch, waiting for people to arrive.

Kara came into the living room and settled down next to her. “You all right?”

“Fine,” Alex answered, shortly.

Kara gave Alex a fond look. “You know, it’s okay to be nervous. You still don’t know some of these people very well, and we’re going to be explaining all about Maggie.”

Alex grimaced. Sure, this unofficial town meeting/game night was going to be stressful, but that wasn’t why she was so on edge. “I’m not nervous about it.”

Kara rested her hands on Alex’s legs, stopping the jiggling. “Then what’s got you so tense?”

“I haven’t had a drink in a week.”

A smile brighter than the sun spread over Kara’s face. “Alex! I’m so proud of you.”

Alex shrugged and looked away.

There was a thump at the door and Kara went to open it. “Winn! Stop kicking my door!”

Winn shuffled in, carrying a massive box. “Well, it’s not like I had any spare hands!”

“What’s all that?” Alex asked.

“Stuff,” Winn replied vaguely. “You have a folding table, right? I want to set up on the front porch to deal with everybody’s phones before they get in the house.”

Alex frowned. “Um, not to seem paranoid, but won’t that seem suspicious if they’re watching?”

Winn turned to Kara. “Are they watching?”

Kara’s eyes unfocused slightly and she rotated in a half circle. “No one within telescopic distance and . . .” she squinted. “both Maggie and Derek are in their motel room.”

Alex’s jaw dropped. “That is awesome!”

“Yeah, yeah,” Winn grumped. “You two can flirt later. Right now we’ve got a mission!”

Kara rolled her eyes behind Winn’s back, prompting a smile from Alex, and ducked into the hallway to pull a folding table out of the closet.

 

Within short order, Winn was set up on the porch and the yard was filling up with cars. Jo Lupo was first, eager as ever, though fortunately not dressed in her deputy’s uniform. Abby and Raven came by shortly after, carpooling with Indra (the mayor) and her foster daughter Anya. Clark and Lois had volunteered to babysit Clarke (and her best friend Lexa, Indra’s other foster daughter) so that the adults could come to the meeting. Jack (of poker night fame), Dave (from the auto shop) showed up at the same time and exchanged bro-hugs on the porch. Betsy and Jess were last, each bringing a basket of baked goods.

They all gathered in the living room, exchanging greetings and compliments and catching up on each other’s lives. Bothgar darted from person to person, sniffing them in recognition and accepting pats. Winn bustled around finishing up whatever it was he was doing with the tech.

Kara stood in the hall, leaning against the wall. Alex wove her way through the small crowd and stood next to her. “You’re the one that’s nervous.”

Kara nibbled her lip. “I should tell everybody, shouldn’t I.”

“You don’t have to.”

“But it would help.”

Alex gave a non-committal shrug. It really depended on if they believed her or not. “Do you trust them?”

“Yes.” Kara nodded firmly. “I do.”

Just then, Winn came up. “We’re ready to start.”

 

They squeezed onto the couches and chairs around the coffee table and their guests looked at Winn, Alex, and Kara expectantly.

Kara took a deep breath. “Hi everybody. Thanks for coming.”

They made general agreeing and “our pleasure” and “thanks for inviting me” noises.

Kara nodded. “Right.” She took another deep breath. “So, to start off, I’m not from here. Like, this planet here.” Kara looked around the room nervously and held Alex’s hand just a little too tightly. She was met with some of the best poker faces she’d seen.

After a long silence, Abby spoke up. “Um, I kind of already knew.”

“So did I,” Raven said.

Indra and Anya exchanged looks. Indra spoke for the two of them. “We did not know, but we accept you as you are.”

Betsy smiled. “Darling, I work at the hospital. I know everybody’s secrets.”

Jess snorted. “Truth. The hospital is nearly as bad about gossip as the diner.”

“I didn’t know, but it explains a lot.” Jack muttered, continuing under his breath something about ‘poker nights’ and ‘too good to be true’.

Dave chimed in. “I didn’t either, but anyone who can strip a carburetor and put it back together in five minutes is good with me.”

Alex could feel the tension flow out of Kara’s body at their words.

“Thanks, guys,” Kara beamed. “That really means a lot to me!”

Jess leaned forward eagerly, the gleam of a new piece of gossip in her eye. “Does this mean those agents are here for you?”

“Well, we are worried that they’ll find out about me, but we’re not sure exactly why they’re here . . .” Kara trailed off and looked at Winn, who picked up the explanation.

“I’ve done some digging, and they’re part of a government organization called the DEO. No one knows much; they’re so secret they’re not top secret, they’ve come full circle and are bottom secret.”

The assembled group hung on his words and Winn straightened up under the attention.

“The DEO stands for Department of Extranormal Operations. They deal with anything alien or inhuman or metahuman or super. And not usually nicely. I haven’t heard  _ anything _ good about them at  _ all _ .”

“So why did they come here?” Betsy cut in. “Did someone call in a tip? Was it the crop circles Kara makes? Or can they track your alien computers?”

“How did you know about that?” Kara exclaimed.

Betsy waved her hand. “Not important right now, deary. I’ll tell you later.”

Winn coughed to hide his laugh and shrugged in response to Betsy’s question. “Well, this town has always been under observation - they monitor all the alien hotspots, probably to see if anyone gets too close to something real. It appears they started monitoring soon after that meteor shower like 12 years ago? Anyway, a couple months back, one of their passive internet watchdogs started throwing up flags, and eventually it was enough to warrant deploying agents.”

Alex groaned in sudden realization. “That might actually be my fault.”

Everyone turned to her in surprise and confusion.

Alex winced, but explained, trying to beg forgiveness of Kara with her eyes only. “That was back when Kara and I were sort of dancing around each other, right? I asked about her language, ‘cause she told me she hadn’t grown up speaking English and so she taught me a little bit. I took that little bit and went looking for some basic resources. You know, so I could learn the language and impress her? I was looking online, of course, and while I have decent firewalls on my computer, they’re not impenetrable.”

Betsy and Jess and Abby all had expressions that clearly said ‘you’re adorable’ while Kara practically melted into Alex.

Winn pulled up his tablet and began flipping through data. “That would have raised the threat level, for sure.”

Alex took a deep breath. Might as well confess it all at once. “I was also researching some of my dad’s stuff. That definitely would have pinged.”

“Why do you say that?” Raven asked

Alex squirmed. “He worked with the government. Like, probably the DEO. With aliens and meta-humans. Which I didn’t find out until my mom sent me his notebooks about a month ago.”

“You couldn’t have told us this earlier?” Winn glared.

Alex sputtered. “I didn’t know it was important! His journals talk mostly about his research, not the scary agents he worked with or the possibility of arrest!”

Kara rubbed Alex’s back soothingly and shot a quick glare at Winn. “Okay, now that we know why they’re here, let’s come up with a plan to get rid of them, sound good?”

“Yes!” Raven bounced in her seat, leaning forward eagerly. “We’ve got to stick it to the man! Down with the government!”

“Raven, sweetheart, you work for the government.”

Raven swiveled to face Abby, a mock offended look on her face. “Consult for. And NASA doesn’t count. They’re the cool part of the government.”

Winn nodded. “Right. And the first part of the plan is to make Maggie jealous. While I’ve fixed your phones so that they can’t access anything on it, they can see anything that goes through the network or cell towers.”

“So should I text Clark to see how the kids are doing, they would see that,” Indra said.

“Or posted a picture to facebook?” Betsy asked.

“Exactly.” Winn pointed at the two of them. “Those are all available for viewing. So, I was thinking, a few texts about how much fun you’re having, maybe a picture or two of Kara and Alex being all domestic, you know, something to really rub it in her face.”

Jack raised his hand. “Who is Maggie and why are we trying to make her jealous?”

Winn flipped his tablet around to show a picture of Maggie, complete with drawn on devil horns and tail. Alex slunk lower in her seat and tried to hide her face in Kara’s shoulder.

“Exhibit A,” Winn said. “Maggie Sawyer, one of the agents pestering us, and, conveniently, Alex’s ex.”

Alex considered leaving, but Bothgar was lying on her feet. She couldn’t disturb  _ him _ .

Jack chuckled. “Oh man, she’s never getting the right groceries again.”

Alex poked her head out from behind Kara’s shoulder.

“You really dated her?” Anya asked.

Alex cleared her throat. “She’s one of the reasons I moved here. Figured it was far enough away. Guess I was wrong.”

The group exchanged wicked looks. “Well,” Jess said. “Let’s make her regret all of her life choices.”

 

***fifteen miles away at the cheap motel in town***

 

Maggie’s scowl got deeper and deeper as she scrolled through the minimal data they’d gotten from the town’s phones. There was apparently a sort of game night at Kara Stone’s house, and everyone there felt the need to talk about it. There was the usual texts between a couple of the participants and some babysitters, making sure the kids were all right. Assorted pictures sent back showed that not only were the kids “all right” they were also having spectacular amounts of fun dressing up in grown-up clothes and smacking each other with fake swords.

Those pictures, of course, required a response. The response came in a series of pictures. All the game night participants were caught in candid poses - arguing over the rules, petting the dog, stuffing themselves full of delicious looking food . . . Maggie glared at the half-eaten takeout sitting next to her. It was cold, greasy, and entirely unappetizing.

The absolute worst picture, though, was of Kara Stone and Alex cuddling on the couch. Kara was on one end of the couch, her feet propped up on the end table. Her socks were decorated with otters. Maggie cursed the hi-resolution cameras that now came standard on nearly all phones. Alex was curled up into Kara’s side, her feet tucked up under her and one hand resting on the dog’s head, as if she had been scratching behind his ears. Her face was turned up to look at Kara, who was looking back with a smile on her face. They looked completely, utterly, absolutely, besotted with each other.

Maggie hated it.

 

***

 

The group tossed ideas around while playing a few rounds of poker, as well as some more intense games, like Sorry and Settlers of Catan. The ideas ranged from robots with lasers (Raven) to sending the story to every media news outlet out there (Dave) to ignoring them and hoping they went away (Kara). Eventually, they decided that convincing the DEO that this was a false alarm was their best bet.

“I mean,” Alex said, “It really was a false alarm. My mom would have sent me my dad’s stuff no matter where I moved, and I would have done my own research. It’s just bad luck it was here where there’s actually something for them to find.”

Indra spoke up. “They’re not going to believe us if we just tell them it’s fake. It’d probably make them more suspicious.”

The other people nodded in agreement. There was a pause while everyone mulled it over.

Alex pressed in closer to Kara (even though she was practically in Kara’s lap at that point. “I could probably just leave my computer lying around and ask her over. Maggie would always use my laptop when we were dating, no matter how frustrated it made me. I bet her habits haven’t changed. Then when she snoops, I’ll have my dad’s stuff up and she’ll figure it out. She’s a jerk, but she’s not stupid.”

Indra nodded. “That is a good start. What can we do in case that doesn’t work or they get suspicious?”

With somewhere to start, they got most of their plan hashed out. It relied a lot on Alex, which she thought was fair, since she’d brought the DEO to Neodesha in the first place. Kara did not agree.

Eventually, everyone left, even Winn, who was aching to get back to his computers and do some more creepy dark web stuff.

Kara and Alex were left sitting on the couch, watching the fire die down.

“I’m too tired to drive home,” Alex mumbled. “Can I stay over tonight?”

“Or course. You’re always welcome here.” Kara gave Alex a quick smile and leaned over, picking up the deck of cards and fiddling with them.

Alex bumped Kara with her shoulder. “You look like you want to ask me something. Out with it.”

Kara looked down at her hands as she shuffled the cards, her fingers flying faster and faster. “Um, are you sure you want to deal with all this?”

“Deal with all what?”

“Me. I’m an alien. You’ll have to keep my secret and there’s always the possibility that the DEO will find out and I’ll have to go on the run or something, and people could use you to get to me, and you know Maggie so well and once you get to know me you’ll figure out I’m more trouble than I’m worth, and, and . . .” Kara began hyperventilating and the cards tore in her hands.

“Hey, Kara, look at me.” Alex sat up and leaned over so she could look into Kara’s eyes. “You’re worth it. You are so amazing. I feel like I don’t deserve you, but I want to. I want to make you happy, I want to support you, I want to protect you from people and organizations like the DEO. Kara, I choose you. Not Maggie, not anyone else. You.”

Kara sagged a little. “You sure?”

“I’m sure. And I’ll tell you that as many times as you want.”

Kara smiled, before leaning in for a kiss. “I think I’m falling in love with you, Alexandra Danvers.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, let me tell you something. I have had vicious games of Monopoly and Risk and cards, but nothing compares to playing Sorry with my mom. She looks like a sweet old grandmother, all white hair and cute aprons that she makes cookies in, but play a children's game with her? You had better watch out.  
> That being said, I do love her dearly. I'll just do puzzles with her instead of games.


	36. Setting the Trap

Alex woke up early with an arm draped over her stomach. She slowly turned herself over so she could see Kara’s face. They’d spent a little time making out the night before . . . well, a lot of time . . . okay, they didn’t actually stop until Clark got home from babysitting Clarke and Lexa.

After hearing about Clark’s babysitting adventures and telling him everything that had happened at the game night, Kara had shyly suggested Alex stay in her bedroom instead of the spare room. “Ju-just to sleep!” Kara had stammered.

Alex smiled again as she watched Kara twitch in her sleep. The room was large and comfortable and full of light. The sun slowly streamed into the room, causing Kara to twitch a little more and roll over, stretching herself out languidly into the patch of sunlight.

Alex hid a laugh. Kara reminded her of nothing more than a lazy cat, basking in the sun. As the sun crept up, Kara continued to shift, twisting the blankets around her legs as she rolled, and then tearing them as she stretched, pulling through them like tissue paper. Alex got pushed closer and closer to the edge of the bed as Kara followed the sun. Finally, fearing for her position in the bed, Alex slid off the bed of her own accord and made her way to the connected bathroom.

When she came back out, Kara had managed to rid herself of all the covers and was floating several inches above the bed. Alex propped herself up in the doorway and just watched. She couldn’t believe how much her life had changed in just a few short months. From sleeping in her car to this - waking up to her wonderful, amazing, beautiful, kind, brilliant girlfriend.

Eventually, the alarm clock on the bedside table buzzed. Kara flung out her hand, smashing it to bits before sitting up (still floating above the bed). She examined the bed with a puzzled expression before looking up to see Alex in the doorway.

Kara smiled. “You are here! I was worried for a minute I’d dreamed it.”

Alex shook her head, biting her lip in an attempt to hide her smile. “Not a dream.”

Kara cocked her head and wrinkled her nose. “You’re awfully happy this morning.”

Alex sauntered forward, bending down and giving Kara a very thorough good morning kiss. “I am very happy.”

Kara licked her lips, a bit dazed from the kiss. “G-good. That’s good.”

Alex sat down on the bed next to Kara. “So, what’s the plan for today?”

“Uhhhhh.” Kara shook her head, visibly pulling her focus together. “There are all the regular farm chores. You said you wanted to practice riding some more, so we could do that too. Tonight the kids are having their own game night to make up for the one they missed last night, and I was kind of hoping you’d be here for that. We can hide out in the basement and update J’onn and Lucy about the situation, or make out in the barn or something.”

Alex flopped backwards, spreading her arms. “That all sounds wonderful. Have I told you how wonderful you are lately?”

Kara dipped down and kissed Alex on the nose. "Not as wonderful as you."

 

\---

 

Alex shrugged. “I'm not saying I don't believe in aliens. Obviously, I believe in aliens, I'm dating one. I just don’t see why aliens would come here.”

Raven pointed a screwdriver at her. “Kara did. That someone chose to come here before is a pretty good argument that it has happened other times and could happen again.”

Winn said something, muffled behind the couch and baseboards.

“What?” Alex asked.

Winn poked his head up and repeated himself. “We think Kara coming here was an accident, actually. From what Kryptos and Kara can decipher from the records in their spaceships, they were supposed to go to a neighboring system to be raised by a Kryptonian ambassador and got knocked off course.”

“Which proves my point.” Alex waved her hand. “There’s no reason for aliens to show up to earth.”

“They would come here because it’s habitable!” Winn exclaimed, nearly losing his grip on the wire strippers in his hand with his wild gesticulations. “I mean, think about it. In our explorations of the stars, we look for planets in the habitable zone. They’re probably doing the same thing. They might not know there are people here, they could just be sending probes or what not to study the planets! And that’s what crop circles are! Drones landing and gathering information. They probably have no idea what’s actually here.”

Raven squinted at Winn. “I thought you thought crop circles were a form of communication.”

“I have several working theories,” Winn said loftily.

Alex chuckled and watched them work for a bit, tossing wires between them, alternating pounding at her computer keyboard and pounding at the wall. “You know, you two work really well together. Raven does hardware, Winn does software . . .”

Raven shrugged. “Not a whole lot of techies in town. Or alien enthusiasts. We took our friends where we could get them.”

“Were you the same year in school?”

“Nah, Raven’s ancient,” Winn said.

Raven shoved his shoulder. “I’m only a couple years older than you, jerk!”

Winn chuckled and tucked his bundle of wires back into the wall. “I think we’re about done.”

Raven slid the baseboard back into place and nodded. “Just a quick double check on your computer here, and we should be good to go.”

There was another moment of incomprehensible computer stuff and Winn and Raven turned to her.

“It’s set!” Winn exclaimed.

Raven nodded proudly. “Super discreet security cameras, accessible through your phone or computer, tracking software for anything done on your computer activated through your phone, and the best firewalls we can make. Which are pretty damn good.”

Alex smiled in gratitude. “Thanks you guys. I mean it. I don’t know what I would do without you.”

Winn ducked his head bashfully while Raven smirked. “We’re the best, we know. Now go call Kara. Y’all are probably going crazy because you haven’t spoken in 12 hours.”

Alex laughed. “We’re not that bad!”

“Yeah, yeah.”

They shared another laugh, Alex showed Winn and Raven out, and then she hurriedly picked up her phone. It had been a while since she'd talked to Kara . . .

 

\---

 

Three days later, at 12:25 pm, Alex pulled out her phone and hit speed dial four.

“Winn. I’m ready to drop the bait. Where is she?”

“Jess has her at the diner as of five minutes ago, sitting down for lunch. The other agent is with her.”

“Roger that. On my way.”

Alex took a deep breath and strode out of the hospital. As she left, Betsy gave her a thumbs up and a quick “You can do it!” before turning back to her computer.

The five-minute walk to the diner was horribly stressful. Each step brought her closer to facing the person who had literally turned her life to hell, and she had to do it alone. She was sinking deeper into her depressing thoughts when she realized that nearly everyone she passed had a cheerful and encouraging smile for her. Alex reflexively smiled in return, remembering that the people in this tiny town in the middle of nowhere really did care, and had shown it many times. It made the last few blocks of her walk much easier.

Alex opened the diner door and wandered up to the counter, quickly ordering some food to go. She wasn’t sure she’d have the stomach to eat after dealing with Maggie, but Kara got upset if she didn’t have three meals a day.

While waiting for her food, Alex “casually” glanced around the diner and caught sight of Maggie and her partner. Trying not show her nerves too much, she walked over to their table and leaned up against it.

“Hey, Mags, can I have a word? In private?”

Maggie looked up. Alex tried to keep her face open and earnest. She didn’t want to ruin anything.

“Sure.” Maggie got up and they made their way to the hallway with the bathrooms.

“What’s up?” Maggie asked, her familiar smirk on her face.

Alex put a focused look on her face. “I don’t think we ever had a chance to really resolve our relationship. I think some closure could do us both good. I was thinking maybe dinner on Friday?”

Maggie swayed in a little closer. Alex did her best not to flinch away. “That sounds great, princess! Seven o’clock? You’re not cooking are you?”

Alex shook her head. “No, I’ll put in an order for Chinese. The restaurant here is surprisingly good.”

Maggie scoffed a little at that and ran her hand down Alex’s arm. “I can’t wait.”

As soon as Maggie rounded the corner and was out of sight Alex shuddered. She couldn’t wait either. The sooner they got this over with, the sooner Maggie and, more importantly, the DEO, left town.


	37. Showdown

Kara hurried up Alex’s front steps, rapped on the door, and poked her head inside. “Hey, Alex!”

There was no reply. Kara frowned and sidled in, closing and locking it behind her. Alex was definitely home, she could hear her heartbeat. A loud thump of glass on wood led Kara to glance towards the dining room table. As she watched, Alex sloshed something from a bottle into a squat glass.

Kara approached cautiously. “Alex? Alex, honey, are you okay?”

“I can’t do it,” Alex said, slamming back another shot. “I can’t go through with this. I’ll call to cancel, and we can get rid of them some other way.”

Kara tried to read the label on the bottle and stay in the conversation simultaneously. “Well, I could throw them into space.”

“Yes!” Alex nodded and pointed at Kara. “Yes, that is an excellent idea.” She lifted her (now full) glass again.

Kara winced. “Do you really want to be drunk and/or hungover tomorrow? While you have to deal with Maggie?”

Alex shrugged. “Won’t make much of a difference. The last few months I was always drunk and she either couldn’t tell or didn’t care.”

Kara hummed nervously, glancing between the bottle and Alex. “Well, I came over to go over the game plan one last time, but if we’re calling it off . . .”

Alex groaned and thumped her head on the table. “I’m not calling it off.”

“Okaaaay.” Kara settled down in a chair across the table from Alex. “So, this is just dutch courage?”

Alex humphed and shoved the bottle towards Kara. “You can get rid of it. I know you want to.”

Kara eyed Alex carefully, making sure she was sure, and then supersped into the kitchen, emptying it down the drain and putting the bottle in the recycling.

Alex scrubbed at her face and sat up. “Okay. Plan for tomorrow. Maggie is coming over. We have dinner, I get closure, I conveniently leave my dad’s stuff out, and if she doesn’t see those and make the connections, make some comments so she realizes I’m why they’re here.”

Kara blinked. “You are scarily still lucid. I can smell how much you drank; you should not be this coherent.”

“Lots of practice?”

“That’s not comforting.”

Alex shrugged. “It is what it is.”

“Right.” Kara paused. “Okay, that sounds like a good plan for tomorrow. I’ll be just down the street at Jess’s place, so you can call or text at any time and I’ll be here in a flash.”

“Oh! That reminds me. I want you to call my phone at an opportune moment to give her time to snoop through my computer and stuff, okay?”

“So, like, half an hour in or something?”

Alex shrugged. “Whenever looks good.”

“Looks?” Kara scrunched her brow together. “Do you expect me to spy on you? I would never invade your privacy like that!”

Alex shook her head. “I want you to watch.”

“Seriously?”

“Yeah.” Alex ducked her head and nibbled at her lip. “It’d actually make me feel better, to know you’re watching and can come in if she tries something.”

“Of course! I’ll be there whenever you need me.”

“I mean, you shouldn’t come in unless something really bad happens. I really want to get them out of here and this seems like our best shot. But. You know. If it looks like it’s going south and she doesn’t believe me anyway.”

“Yeah, yeah, totally.” Kara nodded firmly. “And I’ll call at an opportune moment. Pretend to be work, maybe? Give you an excuse to take the call in the other room?”

“That’s a good idea. I used to do that a lot, so it won’t seem weird.”

“Perfect.” Kara reached out and held Alex’s hands, gently rubbing her thumbs across Alex’s wrists. “You’ve got this, okay? We’ve got this. The whole town is behind you.”

Alex gave a weak smile. “Okay.”

 

\---

 

Alex answered her phone without looking, trying to decide if she wanted to wear something Maggie was familiar with, or something new in an attempt to show Maggie she’d moved past her. “Hello?”

“Hello, Alexandra.”

“Mom, this is a really bad time. Maggie is coming over.”

“Maggie? Maggie Sawyer?”

“Yeah.” Alex nervously scanned the living room. Was everything in place?

“Oh. Are you trying the long distance thing?”

“No! We broke up! She cheated on me and then dumped me!”

There was a pause before Eliza asked hesitantly, “Then what is she doing in Kansas?”

“She randomly showed up here for work and I thought I would take the opportunity to get some closure and now I’m thinking it was a bad idea and Kara won’t be here and I’ll have to face Maggie all alone . . .” Alex dropped into one of her breathing patterns, trying to stave off a panic attack. It had been awhile since she’d had one, but she still remembered all of her coping mechanisms.

She heard a quiet count coming over the phone and matched her breathing to it. By the time she had calmed down enough to realize it was her mother who had been helping her with her breathing, Eliza was speaking again. “I can tell you’re not available to talk. May I call back tomorrow?”

“Yeah, sure,” Alex said. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow.” She hung up and turned back to her closet. Maybe she’d go with jeans and that red scoop neck tee . . .

 

\---

 

Alex had just opened the door for the delivery guy when Maggie showed up. Alex waved her inside with the food and dug in her pocket for her wallet.

“Let me just take care of this.”

“Sure,” Maggie replied, dropping her jacket on the couch.

Alex turned back to the delivery guy (a teenager she vaguely recognized as being on the football team with Clark) and handed him her payment, along with a hefty tip. He thanked her and then glanced inside. Maggie was browsing the bookshelves Kara had made, seemingly engrossed in the section with Alex’s dad’s notebooks and not looking their way. The delivery guy turned back to Alex and mouthed “good luck! you got this! she’ll be gone before you know it!” before throwing her a thumbs up and darting back to his beat-up truck.

Alex smiled and shook her head. Seemed literally the whole town knew what was up. She hauled the bags of food onto the kitchen counter and grabbed a couple plates. Maggie turned at the noise.

“Nice place you got here.”

“Thanks,” Alex said. “It really feels like home.”

Maggie slung her leg over a chair and settled into it to watch Alex finish setting the table. “I can’t believe you moved to Kansas, of all places, princess. You’re such a city girl.”

Alex shrugged, doing her best not to fall into old habits. It was too familiar, sitting here around a table of takeout, listening to Maggie send sly digs at her. “I needed something different. And I love it here.”

Maggie snorted. “What is there to love? There’s nothing here!”

Alex huffed. “The people, the work, actually seeing nature once in a while? Loads of things to love here.”

Maggie gave a disbelieving hum and scanned the food. “You didn’t get orange chicken?”

Alex waved at the table. “Obviously not.”

“But it’s my favorite.”

“Oh yeah. I forgot.”

Maggie hauled the box of rice toward her. “Not a great start at wooing me back.”

“I don’t want to woo you back. I asked you over to get closure. To tell you that you hurt me and made me miserable and ask you to never talk to me again.”

“Come on, you’re exaggerating.”

“I’m not exaggerating! I was miserable! You emotionally abused me and I felt trapped! I was so relieved when you broke up with me.”

Maggie stared blankly at Alex.

Alex sat back in her chair. “Rao that feels so good to say. You abused me, but it’s not going to happen again. I’m happy, I have a fulfilling job, I’m in a relationship with someone who respects me, and I am taking care of myself. I’ve changed, Maggie, and I hope you do too.”

Maggie looked at her. “You’re serious.”

“Damn straight I am.”

Maggie snorted. “There’s nothing straight about you.”

Alex chuckled a little. “I know. But I am serious. It’s taking me a while to deal with it all, but the time and distance help.”

“It wasn’t all bad, was it?” Maggie asked, twirling her chopsticks in her rice.

“No, not all of it. But it wasn’t good. It really hurt me, and it didn’t do you any favors either.”

Maggie set her chopsticks down and stared at Alex. “Do you want me to apologize or something?”

“Only if you mean it.”

Maggie shrugged, then looked up with her usual smirk on her face. “So, have any great ER stories?”

Alex rolled her eyes, but accepted the change of subject and they continued to swap stories through dinner.

 

\---

 

They’d moved to the kitchen, Maggie grabbing a couple beers out of the fridge while Alex pulled up the America’s Funniest Home Video clip that had been submitted by one of her patients, when Alex’s phone rang.

Alex glanced at the screen, then at Maggie. “Sorry, I’ve got to take this. It’s work.”

Maggie rolled her eyes. “Typical,” but waved Alex off.

“Dr. Danvers,” Alex answered the phone, turning around and heading toward her bedroom door, leaving her computer conspicuously open and unlocked.

“Hello, Alex, is this a good time?”

“Betsy?” Alex asked, after shutting her bedroom door behind her.

“Yes, dear. Kara told me to call you. She said now looked like the right moment.” A mumble came through the phone and Betsy continued. “And she would like me to tell you that you are amazing and wonderful and she is so proud of you.”

“Yeah, yeah, now is good.” Alex slumped against her bed, remembering with a smile the time she and Kara had putting it together. “Tell Kara thanks.”

“Excellent. We’re all over at Jess’s, ready to come by as soon as Maggie leaves, so hang in there.”

“Just a little longer, I think.”

“Oh, and if she asks, I called because Dr. Griffin had some questions about the procedure you did yesterday.”

“Oh, okay.” Alex paused. “Did Dr. Griffin actually have some questions?”

The was a click and Abby’s voice came through the phone. “Not really, no, but I would like you to walk me through it at some point. It’s been quite a while since I’ve done that specific procedure and I imagine things have changed.”

“Yeah, sure, I’ll swing by the clinic next week. Um, when you say ‘we’re all over at Jess’s’, who exactly is ‘we’?”

Kara piped in at this point. “Just Jess, Betsy, and Abby. And me, of course. None of the others could make it, but they sent some stuff and told me to tell you that they’re rooting for you.”

“Sent some stuff?”

Kara’s voice grew fainter and there was some shuffling. “Well, flowers. Kind of a lot of those. And chocolates. And Raven sent you some sort of gadget we’re not allowed to touch. It comes with a 20-page instruction manual. And Abby’s Clarke and Lexa chipped in for a teddy bear. He’s got a sword to protect you from bullies, and . . .”

Alex swallowed a sob.

Kara paused in her ramble. “Are you okay?”

“No!” Alex said “You guys aren’t allowed to make me cry! I have to go pretend this was a work call!”

Betsy made soothing noises. “They’re just a few things to let you know we were thinking of you.”

“I’m betting Jo’s package is a gun.” Kara offered.

“Yes, we’ll bring them all over tonight and you can cry then. Now you and Dr. Griffin talk about that new machine you ordered for the hospital.”

“Yeah, do that.” Kara agreed. “It will sound all worky. I’ll let you know when Maggie stops snooping.”

Alex smiled and obediently began chatting with Abby.

 

_*meanwhile, back in the living room*_

 

Maggie glanced at the closed bedroom door and silently stepped towards the computer. She had been very surprised to see Dr. Jeremiah Danver’s notebooks on Alex’s shelf, though she supposed she should have guessed that they were related. They were both awfully annoying and stubborn.

Fortunately, Alex had left her computer unlocked, so Maggie didn’t have to test her (minimal) hacking skills. The alert that had brought them to Neodesha had been pretty vague, vague enough to only warrant their greenest agent, and Maggie had the sinking feeling that it had been Alex exploring Jeremiah’s research.

Maggie swiftly navigated to the quick access window and found four recently opened folders: ‘Work Notes’, ‘Personal Notes’, ‘Projects’, and ‘Financials’. Taking a gamble, Maggie clicked on ‘Personal Notes’.

She was immediately inundated with pictures of Alex, Kara, their dog, and various other townspeople. There was a whole folder titled ‘from Jimmy’ that was dedicated to a town fair, including way too many photos of Alex and Kara looking longingly at each other. There were selfies and candids, electronic scrapbook pages and even a scanned program from a concert. The few documents in the folder were disgustingly sappy. A sonnet dedicated to ‘My Defender’, three whole pages of Alex gushing about Kara as to a diary, a list of every single date they’d been on . . .

Shaking her head and glaring at the computer, Maggie backed out of the folder and tried the next most frequently used. She had little luck in ‘Work Notes’ but hit the jackpot with ‘Projects’. It held pages and pages of commentary on what was obviously Jeremiah’s work, and several translations of various alien texts. There was even a document dedicated to conspiracy theories and how likely they were to be true.

Maggie groaned beneath her breath, and noted down the IP address of the computer before returning it to how Alex had left it and striding over to the bookcases again, to get a better look at the notebooks that really should have been at the DEO.

She’d just gotten to the end of Jeremiah’s notebooks and the beginning of Alex’s (she had worse handwriting than her father, but it was very familiar) when Alex returned from the bedroom.

“That was a long call,” Maggie commented.

“Oh yeah, Dr. Griffin had some questions about one of my grant proposals. Nothing complicated, but kind of time-consuming.”

Maggie gestured to the bookcase. “Looks like you’ve been doing a lot of your own research. I’m surprised you have time for that and a grant proposal. I remember you bitching about proposals taking up all your time! ”

“Well, I finished the first draft about a month ago, so I’ve had more time lately. My mom sent me some of my dad’s old notebooks and I’ve been going through them. There’s some really crazy stuff in there! We’re in similar fields, sure, but that doesn’t mean I understand everything he did. He’s got some really cool theories! It’s been nice to stretch my brain with something that’s not work, you know?” Alex made sure to push the enthusiasm just a little bit too much. Maggie had never been very interested in hearing about her research and she was banking that this would stop her from asking too many detailed questions.

“Yeah, I guess.” Maggie nodded and took another pull of her beer. The timing lined up and everything. Derek was not going to be happy.

She laughed politely at the video Alex had pulled up, then made her excuses and left. She had a full night of work ahead of her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It was all xavacid’s idea to have more of those cute fluffy photos on Alex’s computer. And it was a wonderful idea.  
> Thanks for still reading, despite my sporadic updates!


	38. It Ends With A Punch

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What? It's only been two weeks since I last posted? I don't believe it!  
> Many thanks to my SO for the chapter title and beta-reading. And many many thanks to my wonderful readers who keep me motivated!

Alex closed the door behind Maggie, slumping against it. She was drained, both emotionally and physically. Perhaps drinking so much the night before had been a bad idea. Or staying up too late studying her father’s notebooks. Or both.

A soft rap at the door had her jumping in surprise, but a quick peek through the spyhole reassured her that it was just Kara and Jess and Betsy, their arms full of flowers and packages. Alex opened the door and waved them in with a weary smile. Kara paused in the doorway to give her a quick, but kind, kiss.

Alex watched in bewilderment as the three women piled their loads onto the dining room table. There were indeed boxes of every size, at least four vases of flowers, and one stout teddy clutching a wooden sword on top. Alex swayed slightly and grabbed at the wall to hold herself up. She had barely reached out when Kara was behind her, wrapping strong arms around her waist and pressing soft kisses into her neck.

“It’s all right, Alex,” Kara said, “We don’t have to deal with this right now. We can just go to bed and cuddle up and get a good night’s rest and sort everything tomorrow.”

Both Betsy and Jess nodded their agreement. Betsy came over and gave Alex a warm hug. “I’m sure you’re all worn out. We’ll be out of your hair in a jiffy. Just wanted you to know we care.”

Alex nodded, sniffling slightly. Jess followed Betsy and gave Alex a hug, lightly poking at Kara. “You make sure to take care of her, all right?”

Kara smiled. “Yes, ma’am!”

The two women collected their things and left, but not without a few more comforting words and hugs. As soon as they were gone, Kara nuzzled into Alex’s neck.

“Hey. You okay?”

“Yeah?” Alex said. “It’s weird. I feel relieved and exhausted and worried and confused at the same time.”

Alex could feel Kara’s smile against her neck. “I’m so proud of you, you know.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

Alex twisted, so she could wrap her arms around Kara and tuck her head under Kara’s chin. “It was really scary.”

“I know, but you were so brave and so wonderful.” Kara gave her a gentle squeeze.

“Can you stay with me tonight?” Alex mumbled into Kara’s shirt, “Or do you have to go home to Clark and the animals?”

“I can stay,” Kara reassured her. “Are you hungry? You weren’t eating very much at dinner.”

Alex shrugged. “I was too nervous then. And now I just want to cuddle.”

“All right.” Kara smiled and swung Alex up into her arms. “Cuddling it is!”

 

\---

 

The next morning, Alex woke up to a shrill ringing. She thwacked at the end table a few times before realizing it was her phone on the other side of the bed and not her alarm clock on this one. Stretching over Kara, she lost her balance and flopped down on Kara’s stomach, catching the phone on the last ring.

“Hello?” Alex said, blinking away the sleep in her eyes and trying to get off of Kara. Kara, of course, wasn’t helping at all, deciding that Alex landing on her meant she had permission to wrap her arms around her and cuddle some more.

“. . . did I wake you?”

“Mom?” Alex glanced around, trying to find a clock. “What time is it?”

“Nearly 10, your time.”

“Oh.”

“Oh, indeed.”

“Well, I can talk now.” Alex whacked at Kara’s hands and shifted so that they were both sitting up, Kara against the headboard and Alex in her lap.

Unseen, Eliza quirked an eyebrow at the shuffling noises coming from her phone but obligingly picked up the conversation. “How was dinner last night?”

“It was okay. Good have gone better, but could have gone a lot worse.”

“Did you get your . . . closure?”

“Yeah, I think so. I feel a lot better now, at least.”

“I’m glad.” Eliza cleared her throat, as if embarrassed at her pronouncement. “Are you enjoying work still?”

“I am! It’s been really good. I think I’ve finally settled in, and I’ve started applying for some research grants.”

Alex continued to chat with her mother about work for several more minutes, Kara happily listening to both sides of the conversation.

When Alex hung up, she snuggled her face into Kara. “Do we have to get up?”

Kara shrugged. “No, but there are a bunch of presents out there with your name on them. I really want to know what they are.”

“You didn’t peek?”

“I would never!”

“Never?”

“Well, I used to. And then Winn made lead lined wrapping paper. Now I have to steam them open like a plebian if I want to peek.” Kara pouted beautifully.

Alex laughed and kissed the pout away. “All right, all right, let’s go see what my friends have come up with.”

 

After arranging a couple vases of flowers in her living room and convincing Kara to take the rest back to the farm to decorate that living room, Alex sat down on the couch and stared at the pile of boxes. Kara was right, it was much less overwhelming in the morning, and what had seemed a huge pile of confusing gifts last night was down to a much more manageable pile of boxes, envelopes, and a teddy bear.

Kara flopped onto the couch next to her. “The flowers were from Abby, Indra and Anya, Jack, and Betsy. The boxes are marked.”

“Right.”

“The teddy bear is from Clarke and Lexa. They asked what Raven was doing when she was making her thing, and she explained that she was making it for you because you were going to confront a bully. They decided that you needed some help fighting the bully, so they made you that. Clarke has one Lexa gave her to fight off nightmares.”

“Why is everybody so nice?” Alex asked, “And why are they giving me presents just for talking to Maggie?”

Kara pulled her into a one-armed hug. “We’re just proud of you! You confronted your abuser, got closure, and did your best to protect me! That deserves presents, food, and lots of cuddles.”

Alex nodded shakily. “Okay. Okay.” She searched for a distraction and focused on the contraption that had prompted the teddy bear.

“What’s it supposed to do, anyway?”

Kara looked at it closely. “I’m not sure. It’s either a miniature nuclear reactor or a jack-in-the-box.”

Alex nodded and gently pushed it to the back of the table, pulling a different box towards her. It was a large and square, but not particularly heavy, and marked from Dave. Kara was bouncing with excitement, so Alex opened it up with less care than she usually would have taken. Inside was a black motorcycle helmet with a note taped to the visor.

_Whenever something brings me down, I like to take a nice long ride on my hog. Come by the auto store sometime and you can borrow her._

“How did he know I have a motorcycle license?” Alex asked. “I didn’t think it had come up yet.”

Kara whistled innocently.

Alex, naturally, wasn’t convinced, and gave Kara a look.

Kara blushed. “Okay, okay. After we went to the water place I looked you up. I was looking for videos of you surfing, to watch your technique of course,”

“Of course,” Alex said, dryly.

“Anyway, I ran across an article the local paper had done after you won one of those competitions. You know, a 'meet the local celebrity' type thing. It mentioned that you liked to go riding occasionally.”

“And Dave found out how?”

Kara ducked her head and mumbled something.

“What?”

“I may have asked him how much a good motorcycle was.”

Alex smiled and leaned over to press a kiss to Kara’s cheek. “You’re sweet.”

Kara humphed. “Just open the rest of the presents already.”

Alex chuckled, but did so, discovering a lovely bottle of champagne from Jack, a Taurus 454 snub-nose revolver and a mostly-filled out restraining order from Jo, a sleek leather planner from Betsy, some very fine chocolates from Abby, a spa-certificate (for two) from Indra and Anya, and a curiously unmarked box from Jess.

Alex lifted the lid and then slammed it shut again at the sight of delicate pieces of black lace and silk ribbon. Kara, who had been cooing over the spa-certificate spun her head. “What’s in that one?”

“Never you mind,” Alex said, stuffing it underneath the pile of discarded wrapping paper and boxes.

Kara squinted a little and then turned bright red, quickly focusing back on the paper in her hands.

Alex firmly put the lingerie out of her mind and stood up. "How about some brunch?"

Kara nodded eagerly. "Yes! Food. Food is good."

 

_\--- two days later ---_

 

Derek was furious as he paced the motel room. “You are telling me _she’s_ the reason we’re here? No aliens, no terrorist cells, just a woman who somehow got a hold of her dad’s classified research?”

Maggie ran a hand through her already tousled hair and slumped back in her chair. She’d spent two nights and a full day hacking into Alex’s computer (her firewalls alone took most of the DEO’s supercomputers ten hours to get through) trying to track down all the red flags their organization had placed in or around Neodesha. It was unequivocal. Their trip to middle-of-nowhere, Kansas had been a result of Alex’s curiosity.

Maggie nodded. “Everything of substance came from Alex’s computer and it’s all related to what Dr. Jeremiah Danvers had been working on. There are a few minor flags from other parts of town, but nothing more than would come from a normal distribution of conspiracy theorists.”

Derek cursed vividly, before pausing. “How the hell did she get her hands on that damn scientist's work, anyway? All of his stuff is supposed to be in the vault!”

“Her mom sent them to her. Which means the manager thought they were part of his personal effects and they got shipped out when he . . . died.”

Derek frowned. “So this happened either because we have a horribly incompetent lab supervisor or someone is intentionally trying to sabotage the DEO.”

Maggie shrugged. “Either way, we’ve got a shit tonne of trouble headed our way.”

Derek cursed again.

Maggie leaned forward. “Look, I know we need to find a rare alien to get promoted, but look at it this way. We came out here to do our job and we did it well, not complaining about the crap assignment. And, when we discovered there was an actual problem, we gathered all the information we could and immediately headed back to report it, like good little agents. If we can provide a solution or the name of the mole when things go sideways, they’ll remember us. It’s not perfect, but it’s all we’re going to get.”

Derek groaned. “I hate to say this, but you’re right.”

Maggie let a smirk dance across her lips.

“Oh, don’t get cocky,” Derek snapped, “A witch hunt is about to start. You’d better make sure that no one realizes she’s your ex, or you’ll be the first to go.”

 

\---

 

“Excellent news!” Winn exclaimed as soon as Kara picked up the phone. “They’re leaving! They checked out of the hotel this morning and are at the diner having lunch. I also hacked their computer and they bought two coach-class tickets from Wichita to LAX for this afternoon.”

“Great! Thanks, Winn!” Kara hung up the phone and hollered to Krypto. “I’m going to step out for a bit. Be back soon!”

Krypto beeped in consternation, but Kara was already halfway to town. She slowed down once she hit the habited area and strolled up to the diner, leisurely waiting outside the door for Maggie to leave. It didn’t take long for the two “FBI” agents to exit.

Kara quickly approached and smiled at Maggie. “Could I have a word?”

Maggie glanced at Derek. “We’re a bit busy right now.”

“Won’t take but a moment,” Kara promised. “And it’ll be worth it.”

Derek grunted and jerked his head, before striding off towards their nondescript rental car. Kara led Maggie around the corner of the diner, into the alleyway with the dumpster and loading dock.

Maggie made a great show of looking at her watch. “What is it?” She asked impatiently.

“Alex sent me with a message,” Kara said.

Maggie stepped closer. “Why couldn’t she come herself?”

“She was going to, but she’s at work and when she heard you guys were leaving she wanted to make sure you got it.”

“So, what’s the message?”

Kara gestured her in, leaning down to whisper in her ear. “Go to hell, bitch.”

As Maggie stepped back, a furious expression on her face, Kara easily pulled her back in, curling her over her knee as she landed an elbow on her back. Kara was very careful with her strength - she’d practiced extensively with Krypto over the last few days to figure out exactly how much force she could use to damage, but not destroy.

Maggie stumbled to the ground and Kara lifted her up, this time punching her in the gut.

As Maggie gasped air into her forcibly emptied lungs, Kara hissed into her ear. “You hurt Alex again, I’ll destroy you.”

Maggie tried to engage with a swift uppercut, but Kara neatly stepped away and countered with a lightning-fast strike to Maggie’s side. The audible snap and flood of pain indicated to Maggie that she now had at least one cracked rib.

Kara stepped back and held up her hands. “Just a warning. You guys are leaving. Stay gone and we won’t have a problem.”

Maggie gaped as Kara spun on her heel and strolled out of the alley, looking for all the world like your average farmgirl. Maggie spat a curse on the town and gingerly walked away. They could have their small-town gossip and pathetic lives; she wouldn't be back if she could help it.


	39. Thanksgiving

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Um, I hope the longish chapter makes up for it being a month since I've posted . . .

“You’re working on Thanksgiving!” Kara said in a voice that couldn’t sound more shocked or affronted if she were a true southern lady confronted with a store-bought pie.

“What?” Alex mumbled through the pen between her teeth as she flipped another page in one of her father’s notebooks. She was sure she’d seen another reference to copper-based blood cells somewhere . . .

Kara gestured wildly with the new planner that Alex had spent the entire previous evening filling out. It now contained her work schedule, Clark’s days off school, Kara’s harvest days, and her monthly dinner with Abby and Raven. “It says you’re working on Thursday! That’s Thanksgiving!”

Alex blinked. Was it really almost Thanksgiving? She had been so caught up with aliens and Maggie and secret agent stuff that she could barely tell you the day of the week. “Well, if it says I am, I am.”

“Alex.” Kara planted her hands on the notebook in front of Alex and ducked her head to look Alex straight in the eyes. “Why are you working on Thanksgiving?”

Alex shrugged. “Betsy does my schedule, you know that. I just show up when she tells me to.”

“And she didn’t give you Thanksgiving off?!” Kara’s nose flared and Alex hastened to calm her down before Kara flew off to give Betsy a good talking to.

“Honestly, I forgot about Thanksgiving. She asked if I wanted any particular days off this month when she was coordinating doctors, but I told her no. She even double checked with me.”

Kara looked less like she was going to scold Betsy but still seemed upset.

Alex ran the back of her fingers across Kara’s cheek. “I don’t mind working on Thanksgiving, I promise. I’ve never really celebrated it, anyway.”

Kara pouted prettily. “But if you’re at work, then you can’t come to Thanksgiving dinner!”

“You were going to invite me to Thanksgiving dinner?” Alex clarified while her mind raced, trying to figure out why this was important to Kara.

“Of course!”

“But Thanksgiving is for families?” Alex said. That was the impression she’d gotten growing up, anyway, hearing her friends talk about gathering with cousins and grandparents and obscure great aunts. Her parents had never really celebrated it. If her parents remembered, they’d do a turkey and a pie, and her dad would watch the football game until he got distracted by whatever science project he was working on at the moment, but it wasn’t a big deal. The few years before Jeremiah died, he’d worked over the holiday, and the years after, Eliza had. During college, Alex had welcomed the extra time to study and write papers, and after that, Maggie had always gone home for the holiday, leaving Alex to stay home and enjoy the alone time.

“Exactly.” Kara nodded emphatically.

Alex blinked. “I think I’m missing something. What does Thanksgiving mean to you?”

Kara beamed. “Food! And family! And J’onn and Clark horsing around in the front yard with a football. And going through our gratitude jar. And more food of course. And we usually take a ride down to the pond at some point and skip stones. And pies. And then games and more pies. So many pies. Mmmm.” Kara trailed off into a blissful expression. She shook herself and focused back on Alex. “What does Thanksgiving mean to you?”

Alex opened her mouth, then closed it. “Um. An extra day off school?”

Kara’s brow furrowed. “You didn’t have any family traditions?”

Alex shook her head. “My parents were usually working. Or forgot.”

“And Maggie didn’t have traditions? You guys did date for like three years.”

Alex shrugged. “I dunno about her traditions. She always went to her grandparents’ place. She had a lot of cousins and stuff that showed up, I think.”

Kara frowned and made a thoughtful noise.

Alex hummed questioningly.

Kara shook her head. “Oh, just an idea. I need to think on it a bit more before I talk about it.”

“Okay.” Alex cocked her head, but it appeared the conversation was over, so she went back to her research.

 

\---

 

Wednesday afternoon, Betsy rapped on the door of Alex’s office.

Alex smiled. “Hey, Betsy.”

“Dr. Danvers,” Betsy said, an apologetic look on her face. “I’m afraid your schedule for the rest of the week has changed. Some of the other doctors decided they wanted different days off, so we had to shuffle everything around again. The bad news is that you’re working Friday, Saturday, and Sunday now.”

Alex sighed. She had been looking forward to having Sunday off.

“The good news, though,” Betsy continued, “Is that you have Thanksgiving off!”

“. . . did Kara talk to you?”

Betsy didn’t even look ashamed. “Of course, dear. Now you go and spend the holiday with your family.”

Alex smiled. “Yes, Betsy.”

 

She texted Kara with the news immediately, of course, and received three lines of excited emojis in return.

_ Can I bring anything? _

The Kindest Being in the World:  _ Just yourself! If you want to come early you can help cook. Learn something other than pancakes. _

_ I’ll be there as early as I can. _

 

\---

 

When Alex knocked on the kitchen door the next morning, it was opened by a large stern-looking black man.

“You must be Dr. Danvers.” He said in a deep voice.

“Yes, sir,” Alex replied, a little intimidated. At least, she was intimidated until Bothgar nudged his nose into the man's hand and was immediately scratched behind the ears just where he liked it.

“Alex!” came the cry from down the hall. The man was summarily pushed to one side and Bothgar to the other as Alex was wrapped up in a massive hug. “I’m so glad you’re here! I want to share all my traditions with you!”

The man cleared his throat meaningfully next to them.

Kara blushed and smiled, turning to face him, but kept her arm wrapped around Alex. “John, this is my girlfriend, Alex. Alex, this is John Johns. He . . . he helped when I first got here.”

Alex reached out her hand. “Yes, we spoke on the phone once. It’s very nice to meet you in person, sir.”

The handshake was warm and firm, intimidating and comforting all at once. He gave her an approving look, then nodded once. Alex felt like she had passed some sort of test and was immensely relieved. She hung her shoulder bag over one of the hooks next to the door and toed off her boots. As soon as her second foot was free, Kara tugged on Alex’s waist. “Come on! Time’s a-wasting!”

Alex laughed and let herself be dragged into the kitchen, while John disappeared down the hall. The kitchen counters were covered in pies and something delicious smelling was baking in the oven.

“Wow,” Alex said. “This is incredible.”

Kara beamed proudly. “You got here just in time to help me prep the turkey!”

Alex rolled up her sleeves and washed her hands in the sink. “All right, teach me, wise master.”

Kara struck a noble pose. “As I shall, young padawan.”

“Who you calling young? I’m older than you.”

“Ummmm . . .”

Alex looked over. “You said you were 26. I’m 28.”

“I am 26 physically, yes.” Kara was staring firmly at the bowl as she whisked together some sort of marinade for the turkey.

“Do you not age or something?” Alex mentally began reviewing what she knew about their species. “But Clark has been growing?”

“Oh, no we age. Well, we usually do. I don’t know what your sun will do to that, but we both hit the usual age milestones.” Kara swallowed hard. “I mean, we were stuck in the phantom zone for twenty-something years before we landed.”

“The what?”

“The Phantom Zone. It’s a place outside of space. Time doesn’t exist there, really. Everything is in stasis, basically. Our pods got knocked off course when the planet exploded and ended up there until the guiding system sorted itself out.”

“. . . what do you mean, ‘in stasis’?” Alex asked slowly.

“Clark fell asleep during launch and was asleep when we got into the phantom zone, so he was asleep the whole time. I was awake, so I was awake the whole time.”

Alex dropped the skewers she was supposed to be using to pin the turkey wings down. “For twenty years?”

Kara shrugged. “At least. I’m not really sure. I made it through twenty years worth of lessons from the pod, but that was after freaking out for a while, and I did take breaks to meditate.”

Alex stared at her hands.

They were shaking.

She carefully set down the scissors and twine.

“I’m going to hug you now,” Alex announced. “And then I am going to call my mother.”

Kara started. “Um, okay?”

Alex nodded “Okay.” She wrapped her arms around Kara and held on as tight as she could, squeezing until her arms ached and her bones protested. Then she discreetly wiped the tears from her eyes and pulled her phone from her pocket.

 

One (short) phone call later and Alex was scrubbing at a pile of potatoes while Kara began the rolls.

“What’s next?” Alex asked, scanning the kitchen. It seemed like they had nearly all of the food prep done.

Kara shrugged. “Well, sometimes we go for a ride, but the horses don’t really like John, so it depends if he can convince one to carry him or not. If not, we’ll do something else active before stuffing ourselves silly.” 

Kara slid her bread dough into the proofing oven. “I’ll call Winn in a little bit and remind him to get off his computers and get over here. Then dinner. Then dishes and general cleanup. Then pies!” Kara beamed with excitement. “So many pies. And games. We get out the board games and play and eat until we fall asleep. Or, I suppose, until you have to go to bed and Winn has to leave. You two are the only ones who have to work tomorrow. I mean, we have to get up and feed the animals and everything, but we can go back to sleep afterward if we want.”

“My shift isn’t until 2,” Alex commented, hefting the large pot of potatoes onto the stove. “How high do we want the heat again?”

“High until it boils, then as low as it can get.” Kara spun around the kitchen, checking that all of the pots, pans, and casserole dishes were ready. Nodding firmly, she stuck her head into the hallway and hollered into the rest of the house.

“Leaving for the pond in 10 minutes!”

 

The ride out to the pond was really fun. Alex was secretly pleased (and surprised) to find that she was a better rider than John. Bothgar easily kept pace with the horses, even indulging in a game of fetch as they rode. Once there, John produced a football that he and Clark threw back and forth (with Bothgar doing his level best to steal it from them) while Kara challenged Alex to a stone skipping contest.

 

They eventually, after exhausting both Bothgar and Alex, headed back to the house to finish the food. Kara took charge, while the others followed orders as to what needed to be in and out of ovens and how much to stir that and where the good silverware was and how to make gravy (from scratch!) and which tablecloth to use and yes that’s the right temperature for the turkey. It was a logistical problem worthy of the most overwhelming days in the ER, but Kara handled it wonderfully. The coordinated chaos slowed and settled as tasks were completed and soon the table was set and covered with enough food to feed an army.

A scuffle at the door alerted them to Winn’s arrival.

“Sorry, sorry! I’m here, I’m here!” he squawked, tripping over Bothgar while trying to simultaneously remove his shoes and his jacket and put down his ever-present laptop case.

John clapped Winn on the shoulder and led him to the table. “Good to have you here.”

Once they were all seated, Alex looked around a little nervously. This was when most people did grace, right? Kara reached out and picked up Clark’s hand, holding out her other for Alex. Alex eagerly put her left hand in Kara’s right and reached, more hesitantly, for John’s hand on her right. Once they were all holding hands around the table, John began to speak.

“In remembrance of lost worlds, faraway friends, and families that have left this plane, we speak to our gods. We thank them for our many blessings, including the bountiful feast now before us. We thank them for our continued safety and the safety of those close to us. We thank them for the opportunities we have to build a better life. We pray for gratitude, wisdom, and strength as we walk through life. May the lights of H’ronmeer and Rao and the Great Father of this world guide us. So be it.”

The rest of the table murmured a quiet “so be it”, Alex a half a step behind the others.

After a brief pause of contemplation, or silent prayer, (or growing panic on Alex’s part) the table suddenly became a bustle of movement and noise. Winn dove for the basket of rolls, John started sharpening the knife for the turkey, Kara began scooping mashed potatoes onto her plate, and Clark hopped up, asking if he could fetch the jar now.

Alex cocked a confused eyebrow at Kara, who leaned over to explain. “We have a jar that we put notes in throughout the year. Anything we’re thankful for, but there has to be a story behind it. You can’t just say ‘your bed’, but if you’re talking about the camping trip over spring break where your sleeping bag got rained on and how grateful you were to come home to a soft, warm, sturdy bed, then that works. During Thanksgiving dinner, we pull them out and read them and we each take a turn putting one in to start off the next year.”

Alex nodded. “Oh. Okay.”

“And,” Kara grimaced, “I forgot to ask. Is there a particular religion you belong to? We try to include everyone in the prayer.”

“Um, no. My family was never really religious.”

“Ah. I’ll remember that.” Kara patted Alex’s thigh and turned to accept the old-looking pottery jar from Clark.

 

Reading the notes from the gratitude jar devolved into swapping stories. Alex listened, fascinated, as she learned more about Kara and Winn attending school, Clark coming into his powers, and a few tidbits about John. There was lots of laughter and teasing and smiles. Even John’s stoic face broke a grin once in a while.

About halfway through the dinner, the conversation turned to more recent topics.

Clark turned and poked Winn in the side. “So, why were you late this time?”

“Oh, uh, I was chatting with one of my online buddies.”

“One of your hacker friends that helped us out?” Kara clarified.

“Yeah! So, funny story, the DEO is kind of in an uproar. I don’t think we have anything to worry about.”

“What do you mean?” Alex focused eagerly on the news. She was still a little worried that Maggie would come back.

Winn chuckled. “They’re so panicked about a possible mole in the organization that they won’t be paying attention to anything outside of their doors for months!”

Alex chewed thoughtfully. “A possible mole?”

“Yeah! Apparently, your dad’s stuff wasn’t supposed to be sent back to your mom. They started looking into that and found a lot of other issues, so they’re tearing everything down and starting over. I’m talking a complete overhaul of management, lie detector tests and reviews for everyone, and whichever black budget that funds them is threatening to shut the whole place down if they don’t get their act together.”

“That’s . . . advantageous.” John remarked.

“Oh, yeah, we’re taking the opportunity to slide in some backdoor stuff while they’re trying to upgrade their systems.”

John nodded. “I imagine there are all sorts of opportunities when an organization gets paranoid like that.”

Kara gave John a curious look but didn't say anything.

Winn laughed again and brushed his hands together. “Oh absolutely. Loads of opportunities. So. What news is there on this end of the town?”

Kara blushed a little. “Well, I heard back from Cat Grant.”

“Huh?” Winn just looked confused, but Alex was much more excited.

“She actually responded?”

Kara nodded eagerly.

“That’s great!” Alex said, squeezing Kara’s arm. “What did she say?”

“Oh, not much, just made some comments on my thoughts how public perception can be influenced by the media. I think I’ll try emailing her back, though.”

“I’m lost,” Winn announced.

Kara shrugged. “Oh, um, Clark convinced his journalism teacher to basically e-introduce me to Cat Grant about a month ago, so I sent her a quick email. Took her a while, but she responded.”

“That’s impressive.” John rumbled. “She doesn’t seem to just chat with anybody.”

“I guess I piqued her interest enough.”

Winn grinned. “Mabel is going to love that.”

“Ah, the gossip chain. I’ve missed that.” John’s expression was perfectly straight, but Alex swore she could see a twinkle in his eye.

“Winn always has the best gossip.” Clark chimed in. “You got anything juicy for us?”

“Hmm . . .” Winn grinned slyly at Kara. “Jess told Mabel who told Raven who texted me that you beat up Maggie right before they left.”

Kara swung to face him. “Shut it! I don’t go telling your secrets!”

“I don’t go around assaulting government agents! Though,” Winn paused for dramatic effect, “my online friends are very impressed.”

“Kara?” John questioned, turning a stern eye towards her.

Kara wriggled a little in her chair. “She deserved it! She didn’t even apologize to Alex for cheating on her or anything! And it’s not like I hurt her that badly. Just enough to get my point across.”

“Jess is pretty sure you cracked her rib,” Winn announced.

His statement was followed by a sharp yelp as Kara kicked him under that table.

“Kara!” both John and Alex exclaimed, giving her matching glares. John continued. “That was reckless.”

“You’re one to talk,” Kara grumbled.

“Kara . . .” John said, warningly.

Kara scrunched her face up, but subsided, going back to eating her potatoes.

Alex reached out underneath the table and squeezed Kara’s thigh. When Kara looked over, after another minute of sulking, Alex whispered. “Thank you for defending me.”

Kara squeezed back. “Always.”

 

Fortunately for the peace of the household, the rest of the dinner passed calmly. Winn shared more gossip, John quizzed Clark on his study habits, everyone snuck Bothgar bites under the table, and Alex basked in the feeling of family. Once they had stuffed themselves silly (even the Kryptonians), Kara and Clark got up to take care of the animals. While they headed to the barns, Winn and John began clearing the table. Alex quickly pitched in to help and volunteered to do the dishes.

Between the three of them, it didn’t take long to put away the leftovers and load the dishwasher. Alex started soaking the large pots and pans that didn’t fit in the machine, and John silently stepped up to help. Winn looked around and turned towards the doorway, muttering something about getting the games set up.

Alex and John washed dishes in quiet for a while. It was nice. Bothgar had flopped down and wiggled his head in between Alex’s legs and the cupboard beneath the sink so he could rest his chin on her feet. It had gotten dark, but there were a few lights on outside, letting Alex watch the animals gather to the feeders and occasionally catch a glimpse of Kara. 

Kara and Clark soon made it back into the house and disappeared to clean up. There were another few moments of quiet and then . . .

“So. Alex.”

Alex turned to look at John, who was calmly drying dishes, his sleeves rolled up.

“Yes?” Alex wasn’t entirely sure what to make of this man, whom Kara treated half like a father and half like a close friend.

“I arranged to get us alone in order to ask you your intentions towards Kara.”

Alex dropped the bowl she was washing. “Wh-what?”

John continued as if nothing had happened. “However, I don’t think that’s going to be a problem. You obviously care for her deeply and would rather hurt yourself than her.” He looked rather pointedly at the dishes and Alex hurried to continue washing.

“Is this the shovel talk?”

“Yes.”

“Oh.”

“You don’t have anything to say for yourself?”

Alex stammered a bit before gathering her words. “I will never intentionally hurt Kara. I trust her. I care for her. A lot. I will never reveal her secrets.”

John gave her a deep look, then smiled. “Good. Welcome to the family.”

Alex’s jaw dropped and she was stammering out something when Kara bustled into the kitchen, searching through the cupboards.

Grateful for something else to focus on besides John’s surprising statement, Alex went back to washing dishes, glancing over her shoulder at Kara. “What are you looking for?”

“That Advil you left here the other week,” Kara said. “Clark said his side is hurting.”

“Sure he didn’t just eat too much?” Alex asked, nostalgically remembering a few horrendous stomach aches from her childhood.

Kara shook her head. “No, he swears it’s not his stomach.”

“Try the shelf above the spices,” Alex suggested. She vaguely remembered thinking that they should be out of reach of children when she stashed the bottle, despite Clark being old enough for it not really to be an issue.

“Ah, found it, thanks.” Kara rattled the bottle and headed back into the living room, where Clark was draped across the couch.

Alex made a mental note to talk to Kalex some more about Kryptonian physiology (would Advil even work on them? Should it work on them? What was a base state and what was abnormal?) and went back to the dishes.

It didn’t take them much longer to finish cleaning up, so John and Alex were soon making their way to the “game zone” (so termed by Winn). The table in the dining room was covered in pies and the low table by the sofas was covered in games. There was a fire crackling and Kara was whipping a large bowl of cream by hand, Kryptonian speed and strength making it faster than using an electric beater.

Kara lit up at the sight of Alex and waved her over. Alex eagerly joined her next to the table, stretching to drop a kiss on her cheek. “What’s up, buttercup?”

Kara smiled. “Nothing, really. Just games. Oh, and there's a small hiccup to our plans for tonight.”

“Oh?” Alex wrinkled her forehead a little. “Nothing serious, right?”

“Oh, no.” Kara set the bowl down and tugged Alex more fully into the dining room, away from the eyes of everybody else.

“You were planning on staying the night, right?”

“Yeah. Do you need me to stay at my place?”

“Well, that depends. How do you feel about, maybe, stayinginmyroomtonight.”

“What?”

Kara bit her lip and shuffled from side to side, ducking her head. “Okay, so we only have one guest room, and John’s staying there and I thought maybe you could, um, share mine? Instead of going back to your place? I mean, I know we’ve shared your bed before, but this is mine and there are other people in the house, and, you know.” Kara flailed a little bit, trying to get her point across.

“Oh.” Alex blinked. Despite Kara having spent the night at hers a few times, they hadn’t done anything more than sleep and Alex rather thought that Kara’s consternation came from wanting to do more but being very nervous about it. And indeed, Kara’s next sentence confirmed her hypothesis.

“We don’t have to, um, do anything. You know.” Kara was bright red by this point and staring hard enough at the floor that Alex was surprised it didn’t char. “If you don’t want to. But. I’d like you to stay the night, and my bed is plenty big enough for the two of us so we could share. And just sleep. If you want.”

Alex smiled. “I think I’d like that. And we can see what happens.” She gave a flirty smile and trailed her finger up Kara’s arm. “I don’t have to be to work until the afternoon, after all.”

Kara gulped.

Alex immediately backed off. “No pressure! Whatever you’re comfortable with! I would be more than happy to just cuddle all night!”

Kara opened her mouth, but was interrupted by a call from the living room to “get their behinds in here already so we can start!”

Alex smiled. “We’ll talk about it tonight, huh?”

Kara nodded and placed a quick kiss on Alex’s lips before swinging herself around the corner and back into the living room.

Alex followed with a small smile on her face. She couldn’t wait.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A quick explanation behind the grace J’onn gave. H’ronmeer is the Martian god, Rao is the main Kryptonian god, and the “great father” is their attempt to make Winn feel included. I headcanon that he was raised nominally Christian, like most of the other people in the town, and his not very coherent explanation of Christianity came across as that. Not trying to diss any of the many religions on earth.


	40. Family

The Thanksgiving celebrations ended happily and smoothly. Winn left about 10 with several large tupperwares of leftovers, Clark dragged himself up to the attic with absolutely no protest, and J’onn only stayed up for one more piece of pie before hying himself to bed too. The two remaining partiers put the last of the leftovers away, started the dishwasher, and turned off the lights before Kara took Alex’s hand and led her up to the master bedroom. There was no need to talk about anything, rather they fell into bed together quietly and comfortably, shedding clothes, pressing kisses, and stroking skin.

Kara was gentle and firm all at the same time, pulling exquisite pleasure from Alex’s body like a maestra on her instrument. Alex was all hands and lips and teeth, loving like it was a battle and she would emerge bloody, but victorious. There were, of course, the small hiccups that came with a new lover, adjustments that had to be made and discoveries of things they really liked or really didn’t, but eventually they both relaxed into a cuddle: sweaty, tired, and satiated.

Kara was nearly asleep when she felt Alex twisting around under the covers. Cracking one eye open lethargically, she saw Alex leaning over the bed and digging through the pile of clothes on the floor. Kara blinked and squinted slightly, peering through Alex’s (fabulous) body to see what she was doing. After a moment, Alex scooted back on to the bed slightly, lying on her side with her back to Kara so she could hold a small notepad open with one hand and scribble furiously with the other. Kara beamed when she recognized both the notepad and pen as the set she had given Alex after their date at the museum.

When it looked like Alex had finished writing whatever it was she was writing, Kara shuffled forward, pressing her front to Alex’s back, draping an arm over her stomach, and peeking over Alex’s shoulder.

“Whatcha doing?”

Alex yelped and threw the notebook across the room. “Nothing!”

Kara chuckled and nuzzled her nose into Alex’s jaw. “That doesn’t sound like nothing.”

“It’s nothing important. I’m sorry. You should get some sleep.”

“Wellllll,” Kara drew out the word. “Sleep is great, but I’d rather appease my curiosity first.”

“Honest, it’s nothing.”

Kara employed her best pout.

Alex huffed. “I think better with exercise, okay? And what we did was, well, pretty athletic, and I had some ideas and I wanted to write them down before I forgot.”

“You think better with exercise?”

“Yeah, if I’m having trouble with something at work, I’ll go for a run or a bike ride and my brain will sort it out. I actually figured out you were an alien when I was surfing.”

“Was that when you face planted?”

Alex grinned sheepishly.

Kara laughed, poking Alex in the stomach. “You goof. You very attractive and intelligent goof.”

Alex ducked her head again.

Kara stretched her head forward and pressed a kiss to Alex’s cheek. “So, what did you figure out this time?”

Alex glanced up, her eyes flickering over Kara’s face. Kara made sure to keep her expression open and interested and her hand making soothing circles on Alex’s lower stomach.

Alex twisted around so she could see Kara without craning her neck, propping her head on her hand.

“You serious?”

“Am I serious that I find my girlfriend’s brain incredibly attractive and want to hear what brilliant thing she’s thought up? Yes. Very serious.”

That got a small smile out of Alex. “Okay, then.” She paused briefly before speaking again. “Have you ever had a stomach ache?”

“Of course.” Kara smiled at the memories. “Pretty regularly growing up actually. Usually caused by binging on treats Aunt Astra would bring home from her adventures.”

“Have you had a stomach ache since you’ve been on earth?”

Kara furrowed her forehead. “. . . actually, no. I’ve never gotten sick. As far as Kryptos and I can tell, Sol keeps me perfectly healthy.”

“So then why isn’t Sol keeping Clark perfectly healthy? There was that time I had to stitch him up, he got a stomach ache after Halloween, and then side pain today. You said you were invulnerable, so why isn’t he?”

Kara rolled onto her back, staring through the ceiling in thought. “. . . I don’t know.” She finally admitted. “The stitches were because he landed on Kryptonite, but the other stuff . . . those should not be happening.”

Alex nodded. “That’s what I thought. And then thinking about that led to a bunch of other questions and I had to write them all down before I forgot.”

“Tell you what.” Kara turned her head to look at Alex again. “We can start going through the questions with Kryptos. He probably knows more than we think. A lot of his information doesn’t get unlocked until I ask the right question.”

“That’s brilliant!” Alex said. “That way you don’t get more information than you’re ready for!”

Kara smiled. “Yeah, kind of brilliant, kind of annoying.”

Alex sat up and flung the covers back, climbing out of bed.

“Where are you going?” Kara propped herself up on her elbow and watched Alex bend down to pick up her clothes and notepad. It was a good view, to be sure, but Kara was more of a tactile person.

Alex turned to look back at her, one foot in her boxers. “Um, you said we could start going over the questions with Kryptos?”

Kara chuckled. “Tomorrow, sweetheart. Come back to bed. The questions and Kryptos will still be there in the morning.”

Alex glanced between Kara and the notepad in her hand.

Kara sighed. She supposed there had to be some downsides to dating a genius. She shifted the covers slightly and arched her back a little. “Come keep me warm?” She pouted with wide eyes and a bitten lip.

Alex glared. “I know what you’re doing.”

Kara grinned. “Is it working?”

“ . . . yes.” Alex tossed her boxers back on the floor and stomped over to the bed. “You’d better promise me lots of science in the morning.”

Kara pulled Alex into her arms. “All the science you can handle.”

 

\---

 

When Kara woke up early to head out for morning chores, Alex was no longer in bed. A judicial application of her superhearing and a quick scan with her x-ray vision later and she relaxed. Alex was fine. Kara pulled on her clothes and hurried down the two flights of stairs to the basement. Alex was planted firmly at the large table with a notebook and pen, haranguing Kryptos with question after question about Kryptonian biology.

Kara ducked her head down and pressed a kiss against Alex’s cheek. Alex paused in her questions to turn her head and give Kara a proper good morning kiss.

“How long have you been down here?”

Alex shrugged. “Oh not long.”

“83 minutes,” Kryptos said, a slight huff in his voice. “And she has spent the whole time asking some very inappropriate things.”

“I gave her full access, Kryptos.”

“She’s asking about gavrrigehd!”

Kara blinked. “What about childbirth?”

“Your natural methods, mostly,” Alex explained. “Probably not something you would have learned about since you had those lovely little birthing chambers, but I want to have a good background on Kryptonian physiology before I start in on specifics. Also! It took way more effort that it should have to get answers. I think your robot here is a prude.”

“I merely have a sense of propriety.”

Kara chuckled at Kryptos’s snooty response. “Play nice, you two. We are trying to figure out what’s wrong with Kal.”

“Very well,” Kryptos said. “I will be completely forthcoming.”

Kara nudged Alex and when she looked up, bent down and kissed her. Alex’s lips were addicting. “I’m going to head out and do chores, okay? You might want to put some more clothes on before Clark and John wake up.”

Alex glanced down at her boxers and t-shirt (the only things she was wearing) and grinned sheepishly. “Yeah, I’ll go do that.”

One final kiss and the two of them went up the stairs, splitting at the top as Kara headed towards the barn and Alex towards the bedroom.

 

Clark managed to pull himself out of bed in time to help with the second half the chores. Kara gave him a look, but let it pass. It was the holidays, after all, and it’s not like it was hard for her to do them all on her own. When they made it back into the house they found that John was making breakfast for everybody.

As he was expertly frying eggs, John gave Kara a pointed look. “I told Alex that breakfast would be in five minutes, but all she did was nod at me and ask Kryptos another question. She’s also taken over your whiteboard, so I hope you didn’t have anything important on there.”

Kara chuckled. “The whiteboard records everything written on it; it’s fine. I’ll go get her.” She hurried down the basement stairs and poked her head through the door to find Alex (fortunately in actual clothes this time) pacing in front of the whiteboard. Kryptos had projected onto the table a small hologram of . . . something Kara couldn’t identify but was presumably biology related . . . and Alex was occasionally pointing at it, asking Kryptos a question, then writing something down on the board before going back to pacing.

Kara smiled fondly and interrupted Alex just before she asked another question by grabbing her arm and dragging her in for a kiss.

“It’s time for breakfast,” Kara explained happily, after pulling away some moments later. Alex blinked a couple of times and licked her lips. “Oh. Right. That.”

Kara chuckled and tugged Alex towards the door. “It won’t be long and then you can come right back down. Kryptos will even record all of your findings so far while you’re gone, won’t you Kryptos?”

“Yes, Kara,” Kryptos said. He sounded a little less miffed, which meant that Alex had impressed him with her science.

Alex scarfed down her stack of bacon and eggs and toast without talking, her head obviously still focused on her notes downstairs. As soon as her plate was clear, she rinsed it off and slid it in the dishwasher before hurrying back downstairs, already asking Kryptos questions as soon as the door was open. The others finished their breakfast at a much more leisurely pace. When Clark was done, he headed to his room to text his friends to see if any of them could come over, while Kara and John did the dishes.

“She’s a smart one, that girl of yours,” John commented as he flipped the dishwasher to on.

Kara smiled. “Yeah, she’s a genius!”

“She treat you well?”

“John!” Kara scolded. “You know she does! If all the things I’ve told you about her weren’t enough, I’m sure you read her mind yesterday.”

John shrugged. “I try not to do that without permission. And I just want to make sure you’re being treated like you deserve.”

Kara smiled and pressed a kiss against John’s cheek. “You’re sweet. And she treats me wonderfully.”

“Good.” John humphed. “Now. I think it’s time I beat you at checkers again.”

“As if!” Kara laughed, darting ahead of John into the living room. “I think you mean it’s time for me to beat you!”

 

When Kara heard Jimmy arrive to hang out with Clark, she paused their game and stuck her head out through the living room door. “Jimmy! Do you have your camera?”

Jimmy paused, halfway up the staircase to Clark’s attic room and nodded. “Yeah. I always do.”

Kara beamed. “Could you take a few family pictures for us before you and Clark get busy doing whatever is you’ll be doing?”

“Sure!” Jimmy dug in his bag and pulled out a rather massive camera (with a few extra lenses). “The light is good for outside, if you want?”

“Yeah! In front of the house?”

“Perfect.” Jimmy flashed Kara a grin. “I’ll go grab Clark and meet you out there.”

Kara ducked back into the living room with an apologetic smile, but John interrupted her before she could speak. “I heard. I suppose I can concede to a few pictures for your mantel.”

“And your wallet,” Kara said, happy she didn’t have to do more persuading. John was very careful about pictures and phones and really anything that could be used to trace him.

The boys thundered down the stairs and out the door after them and Jimmy darted around with his camera, hunting for the best angle. Clark glanced around, then looked at Kara with a puzzled expression. “Where’s Alex?”

Kara opened her mouth in shock. “You want Alex in the pictures?”

“Don’t you? I mean, you told her everything, so that makes her family, right?”

Kara felt herself tearing up and coughed it away. “Yeah, yeah, she’s family. I’ll go get her.”

 

It took three kisses and ordering Kryptos to shut up before Alex focused enough to pay attention to what Kara was saying. When she did, Alex got adorably confused.

“Why are you pulling me away again? I only have a couple hours before I have to leave for work, and I want to get a handle on your cells’ methods of energy storage . . .”

“Family pictures!”

“You say that like it’s supposed to explain everything.”

Kara nibbled her lip. She knew Alex was smart enough to figure it out and she really didn’t want to have to explain it, so she just pulled Alex out of the basement and through the house. Alex jerked to a stop on the front porch, staring at the Jimmy with his camera, John with his hand on Clark’s shoulder, and finally Kara, who was looking half expectant and half nervous.

Alex scrunched her face. “You want me in the pictures?”

Kara nodded, as did Clark. Even John inclined his head once, fixing her with a steady (but welcoming) gaze.

Alex blushed, opened her mouth, closed it again, and looked anxiously at Kara.

“It’s okay,” Kara reassured. You don’t have to if you don’t want to, but we do consider you family and would love to have some pictures with you.”

Alex coughed and nodded firmly. “Right. Pictures. Are these clothes okay?”

“Perfect.” Kara couldn’t help herself from kissing Alex one last time in gratitude.

A sharp click from the camera was heard and they both turned to glare at Jimmy. He was wholly unrepentant. “That was a fantastic shot. You’ll agree with me when you see it. Now, scootch over a bit closer to Clark and John, there you go . . .”

Kara beamed and stood proudly beside Alex and John and Clark. This was her family. Hers. And she refused to give it up.


End file.
